Those Who Walk Among the Dead
by The Celestial Sky Dragon
Summary: Hinata wasn't sure what he was doing the night before the end, he didn't even remember it. It certainly was a surprise to him when the dead started walking the Earth, now he will band with other survivors to ensure his and his best friend Nozomi's survival. Life in Highschool was hard, but dealing with "Freaks" was even harder. Will they survive? or will they walk among the dead?
1. The Beginning of the End

**A/N: Hello there everyone, Celestial Sky Dragon Here. After spending the last four months writing Danganronpa fanfiction, I decided to go back to my roots a bit and try writing a new Highschool of the Dead story. I had been meaning to continue Classmates of the Dead, but I haven't written for it in such a long time, that I forgot the original plot. So, I hate to say it but, that story will be put in an indefinite hiatus. I will instead work on this one for the time being before starting chapter 16 of The End of Hope's Peak Academy. For those who have been patiently waiting for chapter 24 of Classmates of the Dead, you are in luck, because I am going to finish what I got, but it will be left in a cliff hanger due to me not continuing the fic. I did a lot of things good and bad with that story, and I hope to make up for it with this one. Its not that I don't like it, but now that I reread it, I cringed at several things, especially the parts where Cody had a lot of guns. In a realistic scenario, I doubt a teenager would have that much access to so many fire arms. It was just an experiment so it's alright I guess, but still I want to do my best when I am writing a story and I can say that certainly wasn't my best. But hey that's the beauty of writing, you can learn from your mistakes, and I can certainly say that I have learned quite a lot in the past year of writing.**

 **I would also like to say that this story might skip a few events but I will run it as linear as I can to the Anime/Manga, I just recently finished the anime and reread volumes one and two of the manga, so the beginning parts will be alright, I was able to squeeze everything into the first five chapters, covering episodes 1-7 of the anime, however it will be an entirely different point of view from a character that doesn't even attend Fujimi Academy, so I hope you all like it, this is just a rough version but I am comfortable enough to post it. I hope you like it, tell me how I did in the reviews, or feel free to PM me with questions or suggestions, I'll try to answer them as soon as I possibly can, I'm still without internet so I'm trying not to burn my data.**

 **Without further adoo, here is chapter one of, Those Who Walk Among the Dead...hope you like it!**

 **As of March 25th 2017, this chapter has been re edited with minor dialogue sequences and edited paragraphs.**

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 1

The Beginning of the End

" _I don't remember what I was doing the night before it all came to an end. I hadn't been paying much attention to anything, not in class, and not the world around me. Everything had blended together into one blurry mess that had just become my reality. A reality I had grown to hate. Who would know, that I would want that reality to come back to me, especially after the end of the world."_

It was a nice sunny day in the city of Tokunosu. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and it was early Spring. Well, summer was still a couple months away, but people could hope it got there faster. The kids at school had bigger priorities, such as planning their getaways for the summer or speaking of the things they'd do with friends and family. Some even discussed plans for summer camp. For one teen though, nothing really appeased him other than a good nap. He was currently laying on his desk, resting his head on his arms.

His long black hair reached past his shoulders, and was ruffled at the top. He was wearing a short sleeved white shirt, with a matching red tie. He also wearing a pair of black slim straight jeans, which were faded around the knees, and was secured to his waist with a black studded belt. He was wearing a pair of black leather boots, which reached to his upper calves, and had thick black laces. A snore escaped his lips as he moved a bit. His name was Hinata Miyamoto, and he was a sixteen year old sophomore of Tokunosu West Academy. The reason he was mostly sleeping in class was due to the long hours he spent playing video games.

" _Honestly, you play video games so much, I wouldn't doubt it if one day you were sucked into one."_

Those were the words of his Ex-girlfriend. They had been dating for six months, and had the same interests, other than his game obsessed one. She had said something about spending more time on games than her and that was that. He could honestly care less. He jolted awake, as the teacher slammed a meter stick on his desk.

"Mr. Miyamoto, napping in class again?" the man asked. The teenager looked at him with hazy blue eyes. His hair was partially covering his left eye, which bore a long scar which he had gotten from an accident he had been in when he was younger.

"What was the question?" he muttered.

"Honestly, how can one as lazy as you be passing my class? You hardly do anything other than sleep." the teacher said.

"Well with all due respect sir, if you taught a better curriculum, maybe I would be more motivated to actually pay attention. I mean, I know all of this crap already." he replied none to gently. Several oohs echoed through the room.

"Oh, really? You think you know all of this? What's the circumference of Saturn's rings?" the man asked.

"Why the hell would I need to know that for? I mean is that going to help me out in a practical real world job? Am I going to be working a cashier position at some store and lie in wait for the dumb ass to ask a stupid question to which I can reply with this?" he asked.

"Mr. Miyamoto, you can take yourself over to the Principle's office." the teacher said firmly. Hinata sighed and got up, grabbing his backpack.

"Sure, I'll take myself out of this class room, but you can't deny that what I said isn't true. Other than scientists, who the hell is gonna care what the circumference of Saturn's rings are? Most of us are going to end up working at some store for a meager pay. It's a waste of time, maybe instead of this you should teach your students how to balance a check." he said as he left the room.

If there was one thing that Hinata hated, it was when he was kicked out of class over dumb reasons. It was an honest question, but perhaps he should have worded it better. It was however still a legitimate question.

He hated that teacher, with all of his might. The man never really helped him learn anything. When he asked for help, the man didn't give it, labeling him a delinquent. He hated the school, the student body, everything. Sure he acted lazy and like he didn't give a shit, but that was just a front. A front to hide the fact that on the inside, he was dying to beat someone to hell.

That he was a ticking time bomb ready to explode. He sighed, and walked down the hall, turning into the stairwell. He walked down the steps, reaching the balcony. The stairwell had been built with outdoor balconies on every floor, giving him a good view of the academy's surroundings. All of the trees had regrown their leaves, after the long cold winter, and the nearby Sakura trees were in full bloom, their beautiful light pink petals floating through the air, filling the air with the sweet scent of cherries.

Tokunosu West Academy was one of the largest academies in the metropolis that was Tokunosu city. It had four buildings, technically five if you counted the dormitory building. The buildings were all positioned in a diamond of sorts. There was a large courtyard plaza in the very center of the academy, a statue of the founder right smack in the center.

The North Building was filled with the Literature and Science departments, it was filled with several classrooms for all the subjects being taught in the academy. There were different language classes, science classes, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, you name it, it was there. The top floor even had it's own green house and observatory. The gymnasium was also located in this building, along with the cafeteria and outdoor patio. It was always a hassle getting there, especially around lunch time.

The West Building was where the Mathematics and Art departments were. It was the oldest building in the academy, and even had the original auditorium still in place, though inaccessible to the student body. Several high end math classes were taught there, Algebra, Geometry and Calculus to name a few, the bottom floors belonged to the Art department, and all of the Art classes, including Pottery and even Photography were held in that building. There was a tunnel that had been sealed off, which connected the West and East buildings, and had been used by the students during the winter, though the under ground parking lot had forced the tunnel to be filled in.

The East Building held the Civics and History Departments, along with the Computer lab, the Sowing department on the bottom floor and the Weight Room. It was the second oldest building in the academy, and the bottom floor had abandoned classrooms, which several students used as hang outs for their club meetings, and to do a lot of illicit things. He usually hung out there as well, since they had the only decent vending machines down there, and it was farther away from everyone else. All of the unpopular kids seemed to hang there as well, so it was welcome for him to be there.

The final building was the one he was currently in, the South Building, which was the active main building. The front entrance of the academy was facing outward, a large parking lot stretched out before it, filled with cars belonging to staff and students, further on was the front gates, thick metal gates that opened with electricity due to the sheer weight of them. This building held the Faculty offices, the Nurses office, as well as the Library, the Auditorium and the Music Department, which was on the top three floors above the Library, ironically enough, the idiots who had designed the school thought it best to have the Music Department above the Library, and that usually made tensions in the school that much worse.

So recently, the third floor had been closed down and the forth and fifth floors were the only ones actively used by students in music related classes. The third floor was used mostly for club meetings after school, and for the Remedial classes, and due to him having failed a class the previous year, he had been assigned to Remedial Mathematics, which absolutely sucked. All of the buildings were connected to each other with metal walkways, that cut across the other smaller plazas within the academy. One large section facing the Southern Building had been turned into a Tennis Court and he could see the Girls Tennis team practicing their serves. Sometimes he liked watching them, mostly because he could track the stray tennis balls and search for them on his off time.

He leaned against the railing, his eyes not really focusing on anything in particular. He sighed angrily to himself, knowing that at some point he would have to go talk to the principle, as his teacher had most likely reported him to the office, that was always a fun time. Last time he had spoken to the man, he had gotten himself dorm arrest for a week for calling him a retard. He really wasn't looking forward to it. He looked at the sky, seeing the puffy clouds.

"Maybe I could run off for awhile. Nah, that would also get me dorm arrest. Shit!" he muttered dryly. He looked back down at the parking lot, seeing a bright red fire truck parked near the entrance. He pursed his lips, looking at it for a few seconds.

"I forgot, there's a fire drill today. Perhaps I can run off then, no one would miss me anyway. It would get me away from Hide and his lackeys at least." he said with a shrug. He found it a little odd that there weren't any firemen around the area. Normally whenever there was a fire drill, several firemen were around the truck, keeping an eye on it and checking the surroundings.

He figured they had all split up to check the system before having the drill, but he hadn't seen a single one while he was in class. He leaned over the railing a bit, finally seeing one of the firemen. He was stumbling around a bit, and his coat seemed to be covered in some red liquid. He was moving around, as if he had a limp. Hinata grew a bit concerned and decided to get his attention.

"Hey fireman, you okay?" he cried out. The fireman looked up, letting out a loud groan, and started shambling in his direction. Hinata found it strange that he had replied with a groan, a groan loud enough for him to hear. On the third floor. He shrugged, rolling his neck.

"Well, might as well take my journey to the Principle's office, get this shit over with." he said turning around. He started walking down the stairs toward the second floor. He decided to take his time, as he entered the second floor hallway. He looked around at all of the fliers that had been taped onto the wall.

"Hmm, maybe I'll join some club this year, get my mind off the shit this school spoon feeds me. Find the circumference of Saturn's rings, the fuck kind of question is that?" he muttered, turning the corner, heading into the next hall. He saw a few lockers had been left open, several sheets of paper littering the ground. He saw a red splotch on the ground and quickly went to inspect it. He knelt down, looking at it closely, touching it with his finger tip.

"Is this...blood? No...it can't be."

He looked around for a few seconds, shivering a bit. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and he quickly stood up, turning around. He took a step back, seeing another student behind him.

It was a young woman, and she was wearing the female version of the school uniform. A navy blue blazer, with bright golden buttons, with a white blouse underneath. She wore a red stripped tie around her neck, loosened a bit. She was wearing a pleated blue skirt, with a plaid design on it. She wore black socks on her feet, with formal black shoes.

While this would be the normal thing he would see on the girl's at the academy, what he did notice that was the fact that she was drenched in blood. Her face was pale, and her head was tilted back a bit, eyes unfocused. Her jaws snapped at him, flesh stuck between her teeth. He saw the large laceration on her neck, the source of the blood. He swallowed hard, taking a step back.

"What the fuck happened to you?" he asked, his heart beating a mile a minute. The girl groaned, limping toward him, he saw that her ankle was swollen, most likely broken. He didn't even understand how she was able to stand on it. He walked back, his fists raised in defense.

"Get back, I don't want to hurt you!" he said. The girl didn't care about his warnings, she just kept walking toward him, her groans getting louder as she got closer. Her hands reached for him, almost grabbing his arm. He pushed her back as hard as he could.

"Get back!" he cried. He heard the loud thud of her head hitting the nearby fire extinguisher.

She didn't move for a few seconds, blood pouring out of a thick cut on her head. She wheezed loudly, but started to sit up, the same unfocused look in her eyes, jaws still snapping at him. Hinata gagged, as he tried to hold down his lunch.

" _This cannot be happening, she should be unconscious. Fuck! She should be dead with that fucking hole in her neck. I gotta get out of here."_

He slipped his way around the girl as she stood up, and made his way back the way he came, toward the stairwell. He spared a glance outside, pressing his face to the window.

The fireman he had been talking too had pinned a young man to the fire truck, and had taken a literal _chunk_ out of his neck. Blood was pouring from his neck, but he didn't stop. He just took a bigger bite, the young man fell to the ground, clearly dead. The fireman grabbed the arm and took a bite out of it, pulling chunks of flesh right off.

"What...what the fuck?" he cried out.

A groan filled his ears, and he looked back, seeing the girl inching his way toward him. He grit his teeth, and gave her a firm kick in the chest, sending her sprawling back. Her head slammed into the lockers, a loud bang echoing through the hall. She fell to the ground in a sitting position, but still tried to get up. He shook it off and took off up the hall, opening the door to the stairwell. He ran back up to the third floor, heading toward the classroom he had just been at.

"I need to get out of here, but I am not leaving her behind. Nozomi, please don't go with that douche bag." he said, praying silently to himself.

Nozomi had been his childhood friend, they had known each other since the first grade, and had gone through their entire lives together. She was the Student Council Vice President, but had been suspended after being placed in Remedial Mathematics for focusing too much on her Volleyball team instead of her classes.

He slammed the door opened, forcing the teacher to stop what he was saying. He panted for breath, leaning against the wall for a few seconds. The man glared at him, chalk still raised as he had been in the middle of writing another equation.

"Do you not get enough enjoyment from disrupting class? I sent you to the Principle's office for a reason Hinata!" the teacher said.

"Shut the hell up you pig faced _fuck_!" The black haired teen snapped, glaring at the teacher. The man looked at him wide eyed, shock written on his face. He walked toward the back of the room, where his friend was currently sitting, and watching him with her full attention, much like the rest of the class.

She stood at around five foot four inches in height, and had long violet colored hair, tied into two ponytails with bright green hair ties. She had ivory skin, without a single blemish. She had a cute face, bright green eyes, a small nose and full lips. She had a beauty mark next to her bottom lip, adding to her overall cuteness.

She was currently wearing a long sleeved sweater vest, which was blue and black in color, with thin red lines on it. Even though she was wearing a sweater, it did little to hide her bosom as it was quite big for her age. She was wearing a short plaid skirt, which was a dark blue in color, and had white frills at the edges of it. She wore long black stockings and black sneakers, something that often times threw off her outfit, but she didn't seem to care. Her bright green eyes were filled with worry as he stood by her desk.

"Nozomi, we need to go, _now_." he said firmly.

"H-Hinata, we're in the middle of class, I can't just leave." she said quietly. He shook his head.

"You don't understand, some people died outside. The fireman tore apart some random kid, and there's a girl on the second floor with a hole in her neck." He said, remembering what he had seen.

"Pfft, are you fucking serious man?" a voice said. Hinata looked to his right, glaring right at the person who had said that, a person he absolutely detested.

He was a young man of seventeen, with lightly tanned skin and buzz cut hair. He had a lean build, with slight muscles on his arms, which bulged a bit through his blazer. He was wearing black skinny jeans, stuffed into his Nike Air shoes. On his wrist he had a thick gold bracelet, with a few black markings on it, and around his neck was a golden chain with a cross on it.

This young man's name was Bryce, he was on the Boxing team in the academy, and was Hinata's most hated person in school. The reason why, he was currently dating his best friend.

It wasn't the sole fact that they were dating that pissed him off, it was the fact that he was a fucking dick head to her. He always yelled at her, and insulted her, and mistreated her. Nozomi being the kindhearted person she was, always gave him a second chance. He would behave himself for a few days and then go back to his usual attitude. It didn't help that he was friends with his tormentors, Hide and Tate two other students in their class. Hinata clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath.

"I wouldn't joke about that you roid chomping Jag. Take a look outside that window. I assure you, you'll see what I mean." he said.

"Hinata, if you are going to keep causing a distraction in class, then I'll have to call security to come escort you to the Principle's office. You know it's an automatic suspension if I do." the teacher said.

"I could care less, call who you must, but we are leaving." Hinata said, grabbing his backpack off his desk. He grabbed Nozomi's, stuffing all of her notebooks into it and zipping it shut.

"Hinata, I can't just leave. If I do I'll never get my position as the Student Council Vice President back." Nozomi said. Hinata didn't care, he grabbed her by the arm and forced her to stand.

"I don't care, I am not going to let you die here." he said firmly. Bryce got out of his seat, cracking his knuckles.

"Let go of my girl asshole, before I knock your teeth in." he said.

"I'd like to see you try dick head. You ain't shit, and I don't care if you are in the Boxing club, I'm her best friend first foremost so I'm more important than you will ever be." he said.

"Hinata, stop instigating him. Please I don't want you two to hurt each other." Nozomi said, pulling her hand from his grasp. He grit his teeth, clenching his hand.

"Nozomi, please listen to me. Two people are dead, and there's the fact that we were supposed to have a fire drill, half an hour ago! The fireman was eating someone, please just come with me." he pleaded, looking right into her eyes. She looked at him, and back at Bryce, who was shaking his head, telling her silently to sit down. Instead, she grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder.

"O-Okay, I'll trust you." she said. He sighed in relief, taking her hand again.

"Come on, we need to get out of here." he said, leading her out of the room. Bryce, not wanting to be left behind, followed suit, already planning on cracking the smaller teen's head.

Hinata lead Nozomi to the stairwell, which would be taking them to the Eastern Building's walkway. That building had the Woodshop room, and he would need a weapon of some sort if he wanted to avoid running into people like that girl he had seen.

"Alright, we'll need to find some weapons. The woodshop should have a few things we can use." he said.

"Weapons, dear me Hinata, I don't think we need to get that alarmed." Nozomi said.

Hinata opened the door, leading to the walkway, and they slowly started crossing. Screams filled their ears, and they both looked down to the plaza, seeing a few teachers, tearing apart one of the girls from the Tennis team. She let an agonizing scream as blood burst from her neck and abdomen, on man pulled out her intestine, and took a large bite from it, smearing the blood all over his face and shirt.

"Jesus Christ!" Bryce cried out, having caught up to them. Hinata looked back at him, a smirk on his face.

"See, I wasn't fucking around was I?" he asked. As he was about to reply, the intercom came on, a loud buzz filling the entire area around them, the shaky voice of their principle echoing through the speakers.

" _Attention students and faculty. The school is now under evacuation! Please follow all safety protocols and exit the building immediately! An unknown virus has made it's way onto the campus and we don't know it's origin. I repeat, all students and staff..."_

The intercom went silent for a few seconds, shuffling could be heard on the other line. Loud groans and screeches could be heard, followed a sharp pained scream. The line went dead shortly after, throwing the room once more into silence. Hinata grit his teeth, grabbing his backpack straps tightly in his hands.

"We gotta move, the halls are going to be crowded with people trying to get out, who knows how many of those _things_ are inside the buildings." he said, pulling Nozomi along with him, heading toward the Eastern Building entrance.

"What the fuck are we gonna do? Those people, they tore that girl apart." Bryce said.

"I don't know what you are gonna do, but me and Nozomi are getting out of here, we're gonna go home and meet up with our parents." Hinata said.

"Maybe you should let her decide for herself yeah? Instead of deciding for her." the teen snapped back.

"I decide for her because I know what's best for her, she's my best friend and I would die before I let one of those fucks tear her apart."

"Please stop fighting. I can take care of myself." Nozomi snapped angrily, pulling her hand from Hinata's grasp.

The black haired teen nodded, and kept slowly moving toward the Woodshop, taking notice the smeared blood on the windows, and the fallen bodies on the floor. He tried not to gag at the smell of copper, and did his best to ignore it. Nozomi had gone pale, and was clenching her jaw, her hand over her nose and mouth to block the smell. Bryce didn't seem to be bothered by it, but he was sweating bullets, clearly unable to understand what was going on.

The woodshop room was large, with several tables serving as each station in the room. The large windows allowed a great deal of sunlight into the room. Coiled cords extended down from the ceiling, for the power tools to be plugged into.

The floor had been painted green, and had been made of cement rather than tile. Large red lockers and tool boxes were lined up around the room, each holding several tool kits within. Abandoned projects littered the room, bird houses and benches had been tossed aside or left on the table, one piece of wood still had the hand saw still in the wooden board. The scent of freshly cut wood filled the room, along with saw dust and scattered wood chips that littered the area.

"Close the door." Hinata said, turning to Bryce, who did so without question. He walked toward the nearest table, grabbing one of the abandoned benches. He sucked his teeth, placing it back on the table.

"What the fuck are we doing here? Bad time to make a bird house." Bryce said.

"Jeez, do you use your brain or is it there for show? What does it look like we're doing here? There are tools here, which we can use as weapons." Hinata said, visibly annoyed. He walked to the large red locker in the back of the room, throwing it open.

"Why bother with this shit? Why not just get a baseball bat from the Gym?" he asked.

"Bryce sweetie, the gym is across the plaza in the North Building. If we go over there, those things could end up mobbing us. There must be hundreds by now." Nozomi said quietly.

"You catch on fast, as expected. Whatever is going on, it's turning people into mindless eating machines. Enough for them to forget about morals and shit, I mean you saw that girl getting torn to shreds. All of the bodies in the hallway. The count will only increase as this goes on."

"That's bullshit! The world was normal a few minutes ago, everything was fine, there is no way some virus can just turn people into...whatever those are!" Bryce said.

"Well believe it dumb shit, people are eating each other, _dying_ , and we can't hang around here to turn into one of them. I for one will not be staying here for long." Hinata said. He grabbed a Monkey wrench from within the locker, slipping it into his belt loop. He grabbed a short crowbar, handing it to Nozomi who looked at it oddly, swallowing the lump in her throat.

He opened his backpack, and tossed out his textbooks and notebooks, grabbing a couple hammers, a screw driver and an adjustable wrench. There wasn't really anything else he could grab that would be useful, he didn't see how a power drill could be useful, unless he planned to drill into a person's skull. By the time he pulled it out, he would be mobbed.

"Bryce, babe grab something...it would make me feel better." Nozomi said.

"Why? My fists are enough of a weapon to defend myself." he said, ignoring the scoff from Hinata as he zipped his bag.

"Please, I don't want you to get hurt." the purple haired girl said, placing her hand on his arm. He sighed, grabbing one of the unfinished benches. With a firm tug, he pulled one of the legs off, the nails bent in all directions. Hinata nodded, peeking out the window.

"Alright then, we need to head back to the Southern Building to grab some medical supplies from the Nurses office...if we see someone we can help, then let's help them." he said firmly, earning a nod from Nozomi.

"Pfft, fuck that. It's every man for himself." Bryce said.

"Sweetie, I am the Student Council Vice President! If there are people to be saved, I will save them." Nozomi snapped angrily.

"But...that's.."

"No buts! Soshun is probably dead or something, and he's the Student Council President. If he were with us he would definitely help people. So we are going to help, no questions asked." she said firmly. Hinata chuckled, shaking his head.

"She's got you by the balls Bryce, best listen to what she says. I know her best, and a pissed off Nozomi is someone we don't want around." he said, walking toward the doors. Bryce muttered a few swears under his breath, not really saying anything. Hinata slid the door open, taking a peek into the hall. He saw a few students shambling around the hall, and as soon as they heard the door, they started heading their way.

"Shit...I was so quiet." he muttered, grabbing his wrench.

"Um...what do we do?" Nozomi asked.

"Hit them in the chest, that should be able to stun them." Bryce said, slamming the club into a nearby student's chest, the nails going right through the skin. He pulled it free, swinging it full force, right into their heart. He smirked, thinking that would have been enough to take him down, only for the student to start walking at him, using all of his strength to push the taller teen back.

"What the fuck? How is he this strong, he's pushing me back...this thing is stabbing his heart!" he cried out.

"Jesus, I knew there was something wrong with them. That girl that I ran into in the hallway, she had a hole in her neck, these things aren't alive anymore, they're dead...they're dead and they're alive." Hinata said.

"What?" Bryce asked.

"Swing for the head, that will take it down." he simply said. To prove his point, he rose his monkey wrench above his head, bringing it down onto the skull of a nearby girl. A sickening crunch filled the hall, her body dropping limp. He moved over it, swinging the wrench at the next student, slamming it right onto their jaw, sending teeth and blood flying in all directions. He knocked it off its feet, slamming his boot onto its head, killing it instantly.

"No...get away from me!" Nozomi cried, clutching her crowbar tightly as a female student walked toward her, jaw snapping at her.

"Nozomi!" Hinata cried, reaching out for her, he pulled his arm back, almost being bitten by one of those things. He slammed his wrench into it's forehead, sending blood flying. Bryce was busy taking down several others, swinging his club hard, using his strength to kick the bodies back, making several students fall to the ground. Nozomi took a step back, hitting the back wall. She shook wildly, raising her crowbar up.

"I said get away from me!" she cried, bringing the crowbar down onto the girl's head. Her head caved in, blood splattering all over Nozomi's sweater vest and her face. The crowbar was dripping with it and she immediately gagged. Hinata took her hand, pulling her toward the doors.

"Come on, this way." he said firmly. Bryce was on his heels as the three doubled back toward the South Building.

It was worse than they thought in there, because of all of the people that had been in that building during the announcement, bodies of trampled students now littered the hall, along with those who were being eaten alive. Hinata grit his teeth, and pulled Nozomi along, reaching the stairwell that would lead them down to the first floor.

Thankfully, it was empty, save for all of the blood and guts that littered the entire area. The walls had been drenched with the red liquid, and the scent of death was already filling the enclosed area. While he would have normally gagged at something like this, he had rapidly grown used to it, something told him he would be smelling something like this for a lot longer.

Reaching the first floor hallway, they immediately ducked out of the stairwell, with Bryce slowly closing the door as to not make a sound. Several of the first floor classrooms had been left wide open, several students lingered in the area, all bearing that same dead look on their faces, jaws smeared with blood. Their skin was gray, black in some areas where bruises most likely happened.

"What is happening man? These kids...they look dead." Bryce muttered, as they all quietly walked toward the Nurses office.

"That's because they are. When a person dies, their skin starts turning gray, as the system's homeostasis is no longer active, meaning they have no body temperature. You stabbed them through the heart and they kept moving at you, them being dead is the only plausible explanation." Hinata said.

"But that's asinine...this isn't some George Romero flick Hinata, this is real life!" Nozomi added. He shook his head, ducking behind a trophy case. The area that lead to the foyer, where the Nurses office was located was filled with them. The entire entrance hall was just dead, blood spilled all over the floor. He swore he saw a severed leg near the lockers. He took a deep breath, gauging the situation.

"They haven't seen us yet so I'm willing to bet these things are blind. In which case we can just sneak past them." he said quietly.

"Are you insane? Walk past them? They'll kill us." Bryce hissed angrily. Hinata looked at him, glaring right into his brown eyes.

"Well if you have a better idea than you can share it with us. I didn't think so, now let's move." he muttered quietly, slowly inching his way toward the office. Nozomi matching his pace, steadying her breathing. Seeing her fellow classmates like this, people who she walked past every day, people who she saw at assemblies and school events, it hurt. But she couldn't focus on that, especially if her life was at risk.

"Hey dweeb, I have an idea. If they can't see us, maybe we can throw something to distract them." Bryce whispered. Hinata narrowed his eyes in annoyance at his chosen name, but he did bring up an interesting idea. If they didn't see them, there was a a chance they could hear them, and that would be bad, especially with them being surrounded. He looked around for a few seconds, unable to find anything.

His eyes widened and he quickly shoved his hands in his pocket, pulling out several coins from within. He held them tightly in his grasp, as to not make a noise. Looking around, he spotted the door to the back plaza was open, he aimed in that direction, throwing the coins as hard as he could, all of them hit the glass, sharp metallic dings rung through the hall, as the coins hit the ground. All of the deceased students looked in that direction, and started walking toward the sound. One bumped into his shoulder, and didn't even react, just kept walking.

" _Holy shit, I thought they would be able to smell me, but I guess that's also wrong. They do listen to sound."_ he thought.

They waited until the hallway was cleared out before speeding toward the Nurses office. Hinata quickly threw it open, and they dove inside, closing the door after them.

"The gurney, hurry." Hinata said, pulling the locks from the large gurney. He and Bryce pulled it toward the door, using it as a barrier of sorts. They both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Man, what a day, and it's only been a couple hours since shit hit the fan." Bryce said.

"Trust me, shit hasn't hit the fan yet, what's happening here, that's just the sprinkles that slip from the diaper. We best start..."

"Kyaaa!"

The two looked toward the other side of the room, where the bathroom was located. They saw Nozomi on the floor, looking up at something, eyes widened in fear. When Hinata got to her side, he saw that it was actually their school Nurse. Doctor Yuriko.

The woman had a large bite wound on her arm, the sleeve of her coat having been ripped open. Her shirt had been torn a bit, and she had a hole in her neck. He also saw a huge chunk had been ripped from her left breast, making him swallow the lump in his throat. Bryce reacted quickly, bringing his club down on her head as hard as he could. Her body dropped to the ground, fresh blood spilling onto the floor.

"You just killed the nurse!" Nozomi cried in surprise and anger.

"She was already dead you dumb shit. Jesus Christ she could have killed us." He snapped, glaring at the purple haired girl.

"Don't talk to her like that asshole. She was just startled, and with good fucking reason, out of all the people in this academy, surely the nurse would have been able to live, but clearly she didn't. We can't wait around anymore." he said firmly.

"Um hey, is it safe?" a voice called out, from within the locked bathroom. It made Hinata wonder where the hell Nurse Yuriko had even been hiding. He glanced toward the door, the voice sounding a bit familiar.

"Yes, it's safe." he called out. Shuffling could be heard from the other room, and a distinct click filled their ears and the door swung open, revealing a young man.

He was a bit taller than Hinata, and towered over Bryce as well. He had a lanky build, pale skin and long arms. He had short brown hair, that fell to the nape of his neck. He had light colored eyes, and a bit of a boyish look on his face, with a bit of stubble on his chin.

He was wearing a tee shirt, his blazer being tied around his waist. He wore a pair of slim straight black jeans, and black Chuck Taylor Converse shoes, the bright blue star on the sides of the shoe were a bit faded. He had a white backpack slung on his shoulder, and was holding a baseball bat. He gave them all a wave.

"Hi...I don't mean to startle you or anything. I was stuck there, way before the announcement. I worked with Nurse Yuriko as her assistant for the lunch break and a few students came in with bite marks. When they started turning into those things, she held them back while I filled this bag with stuff, next thing I know, she's trying to eat me, luckily I was able to get a hold of this bat, but I locked myself in the bathroom. I couldn't bring myself to kill her." he said.

"You look familiar, you on the baseball team?" Bryce asked, looking the teen over.

"Yeah, names Nicholas McFay, I'm number 9 on the Tokunosu West Crusaders." he said proudly.

"You had a baseball bat in your hands and you couldn't kill the bitch? Man what a puss." Bryce replied, shortly after the boy's introduction.

"Bryce! Don't be that way, if I were in his position, I wouldn't have been able to kill her either." Nozomi said, finally standing from her spot on the ground. Nick looked at her, a frown on his face.

"You're Nozomi Fujika, the Student Council Vice President, what are you still doing here?" he asked curiously.

"Um...well.."

"No time for explanations. For now, let's just pack up all we can so we can get out of here." Hinata said, glancing at the clock, it was already a quarter to five and it would be getting dark soon, the faster they got out of the academy, the better.

"Sure, what's your name stranger?"

"Hinata Miyamoto, just call me Hinata." he said simply, walking to the back of the room, where the cupboard were still opened. He set his bag down on the counter and opened it, shoving the tools he had salvaged aside to make space for the medical supplies. He grabbed a couple bottles of antiseptics, rubbing alcohol and some peroxide. He grabbed several packs of gauze, ointment and all of the pill bottles he could find.

The sound of a television turning on filled his ears, and he looked over his shoulder, seeing Nozomi reaching up for the buttons. The television had been mounted up high, and would normally turn on on it's own thanks to the automated system, but you could still get local channels on it. She flipped through them for a few seconds, finally finding a news station.

" _Reports are coming in from the unknown virus that has struck the country of Japan. All around the country there have been reports of the recently deceased coming back to life. The number of infected individuals has risen over a thousand, and scientists believe the count will double by tomorrow._

 _News is coming in from all around the world. The White House staff and the President are being evacuated and taken to a safe zone aboard the airship carrier George Washington. We've lost all contact with Moscow, and there are reports of fires being set in Beijing. London has been able to maintain order, while Paris and Rome have fallen to looting."_

"Jesus Christ, this is all around the world." Bryce said.

"Makes sense, this thing is a viral outbreak. Infectious disease that spreads like a plague...no...this is a _plague_." Hinata said, returning his gaze to the medical supplies.

"But that's impossible...there's no way the world can be suffering from the same thing...at the same time." Nick said.

"Believe it man, you just saw it. Moscow, Beijing, London, Rome, Paris, Washington D.C, all places around the world in the biggest countries of the world, all experiencing the same thing, all of them loosing the fight to maintain order, and in the absence of order, chaos arises, and when that happens...well you might as well just hand it over the walking corpses." he replied bluntly.

"You don't have to be so blunt about it." Bryce snapped angrily. Hinata chose to ignore him, further talk with him would be a lost of breath and brain cells.

" _Reports are coming in from the Saitama area, it seems the death toll has risen over ten thousand, the local coroners office has reported that..."_

Gunfire filled the screen, the camera man shifting the view toward an ambulance, where a couple of body bags had been placed. They sat up, and started moving, the police officers had no choice but to shoot them.

" _Gunfire! The police have started using firearms. It seems that...oh God, Noo!"_

The live feed cut off, the camera having fallen to the ground. It cut back to the News station, where the news anchor was handed a stack of papers.

" _It seems we have lost the live feed from Saitama. We will continue coverage from here in the studio. The Prime Minister has declared a state of emergency for the nation of Japan. Stay within your homes, board up your windows and do not leave unless absolutely necessary. A State of Martial Law has been declared, I repeat, a State of Martial Law has been declared."_ the reporter said firmly, looking directly at the camera.

"Martial Law?" Nozomi asked curiously.

"It's a state of governmental law, basically all normal judicial, legislative and executive laws are abolished, leaving the Military in full control of what happens. When this happens, anyone can do what they want, and no one would be able to stop them. The military also has full power over the citizenry, and can even shoot civilians should the need arise. If it's come down to this then..." Hinata said, stopping mid sentence.

"Whoa, you mean to tell me that some soldier can come up to us and kill us on a dime without a single question asked?" Bryce asked.

"Seems so. We must be careful from now on, where ever it is that you guys are heading, I'm going with you. My father is a Marine stationed in Okinawa's US Base, so he won't be coming up here." Nick said.

"Our parents are in the city, in Eastern Tokunosu. That's where we'll be heading." Nozomi replied, earning a nod from Nick. Bryce scoffed, shaking his head.

"My father is in prison, hopefully dead as we speak, wherever my girl goes, I'll follow, and I guess I'll have to follow the dweeb too." he said, glancing at Hinata.

"Okay then, for now we should probably call someone, maybe get some help. Do you think the police would..."

"I'll stop you right there Nick. There's no way the police is going to help us. We'll have to get out of here on our own." Hinata said firmly.

"How the fuck do you propose we do that? There are hundreds if not thousands of those things outside, and we can't open the gates from the outside." Bryce said. Hinata smirked, glancing out the window.

"Bryce, you are making mountains out of mole hills, who the hell said we had to walk out of the academy? We can just go for a pleasure cruise on the Firetruck outside." he said, glancing at the red firetruck, the sides of it were covered in blood, but it looked large enough to barrel through the gates.

"Hinata, you and I are going to get along just fine, I can tell." Nick said, giving him a nod.

"Okay, but how are we going to get out? None of us can drive." Bryce said.

"Um...actually I can drive a little bit. My mom was giving me lessons earlier this month during the break, so I can get us out of here. It will be a little hard with the big steering wheel, but I can handle it." Nozomi said.

"Yeah, and I took driving lessons last summer from my uncle. I can definitely handle a car if I need too. I can help Nozomi with the steering wheel. But getting to it is another thing all together. Let's just all rest for a bit while I come up with something." he said, earning nods from everyone but Bryce. Hinata looked back out the window, focusing on the large red truck, eyes not coming off from it.

" _I can't drive that thing out of here without keys. Firetrucks carry spares within the truck just in case as it is required by law, so finding it shouldn't be an issue. Getting out of here will be though, the truck is heavy enough to take down those undead freaks, but will it be enough to take down the gate?"_ he thought to himself.

The truck was parked at the bend of the entrance road, which curved around the main entrance. The road stretched out, at least two thousand meters or so, and that should have been enough space for the truck to pick up speed and barrel through it.

" _Well...I guess we won't know until we try right?"_ he thought to himself, a bit optimistic. He looked toward the skies, large plumes of smoke billowed high into the air, and he swore he saw some helicopters, heading toward Tokunosu International Airport. His eyes narrowed a bit.

" _The airport will be secured, and large planes will start taking off, probably toward Okinawa, Kyoto and Hokkaido. Tokyo must be lost by now, with over 13 million people in the metro area, there must be death running rampant there. Tokunosu only has 1 million, but that's still too many to be considered safe. We need to head out of the city, to somewhere rural, we'll have the best chance of surviving there."_

"Why so silent?" Nozomi asked, standing next to him. He looked at his best friend, her face still dotted with blood, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a white and purple handkerchief from within. He wet the corner of it with his tongue, and brushed it on her cheek, wiping the blood away.

"I'm just thinking, I saw some Military choppers headed to the airport, Self Defense forces no doubt. If they secure it, there will be planes heading out of here toward areas with a heavy military presence." he said.

"Then that's our play, we head to the airport and..."

"Bryce, if it were that easy, we would already be there. The airport is going to be sealed off. You can only get there by boat anyway, and once the military is there, there will be safety protocols to follow, no one that is injured will be let through even if they got those injuries from something other than those freaks. On top of that, if we were somehow able to get into a plane, we would be sent to a military camp, and there's no way of knowing if they'll even let us in. We're better off on our own." He said.

"Do you hear yourself? Dude, there's a chance for rescue, a chance that the military can help us and your saying we're better off without them?" the boxer said, clenching his hands tightly.

"Hinata is right. My father told me a few of the protocols they follow when epidemics and world disasters happen. They are very strict when it comes to it, and in a world where the dead walk, they won't take chances. They might even line us up and kill us all, especially with Martial Law being enacted." Nick said firmly.

"No one asked for your input assface."

"Listen man, you are starting to piss me off, so if you don't want me to crack you skull open, you'll keep your mouth shut!" Hinata said, holding his wrench tightly in his hand. Bryce didn't question anything, instead he grabbed Nozomi's arm, hugging her close to his body.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. I'll get you out of here, away from this jerk off." he said. Nozomi frowned, but nodded giving him a kiss on the lips. Hinata looked away, seething with rage.

" _I don't remember what I did the night before it all came to an end, but at least I know now, that the Circumference of Saturn's Rings was something that would forever tie me to the life I used to have. That question, that sole question was what lead me to discover what was happening, what lead me to save the life of my dearest friend. It was the question, which I would forever try to solve, as the world around me descended into madness."_


	2. Dead Nation

**A/N: Hello and welcome to the newest chapter of Those Who Walk Among the Dead. Last time, we got to meet part of our main cast, along with one of Hinata's most disliked people. He will become a person who will cause issues for Hinata and his friends, but not until later on in the story, so for now they'll just focus on getting to the East side of the city alive. Hinata will eventually meet up with Takashi and his group, and if you caught his last name, then you'll most likely know who he's related too. That won't happen for a couple more chapters though. In this chapter, we will focus on Hinata and his friends escaping Tokunosu West Academy, and getting their first glance at the world after the dead started to walk, it should be an interesting chapter for all of you, so I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **To my guest reviewer: No the name Hinata is not a female name. It is actually a unisex name, which means "sunny place" or "toward the sun" in Japanese. It can also mean "Sunflower" if using a non-standard way of reading it. I'm assuming that this arose from hearing the name in Naruto, but I assure you, it can be used for both boys and girls.**

 **Anyway, I will now leave you with the next chapter, please leave a like and a review if you like it.**

 **As of March 25th 2017, Chapter 2 has been Re edited. Minor dialogue changes as well as separated paragaraphs. Some other minor edits were also corrected.**

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 2

Dead Nation

Getting out of the academy was easier said then done. It had been nearly an hour since Hinata and his friends had reached the Nurses office, and they had been resting for awhile, getting ready to leave. The sun was almost all gone now, disappeared behind a building, but it would still be an hour and a half until it was fully gone. He needed to get Nozomi out of there, she was his priority after all, but getting to the East side of town was going to be harder than it seemed. He sighed, tightening the straps of his backpack. He turned to the others, giving them a nod.

"Alright, let's move, before it's too dark. These things react to sound only, so let's just be quiet." he said, earning nods from the others.

Carefully, he and Bryce moved the gurney out of the way, and threw the door open, walking briskly out of the office. Hinata had taken the lead, with Bryce a few paces behind him. Nozomi had remained in the center, clutching her crowbar tightly, while Nick brought up the rear, holding his baseball bat akimbo, ready to strike. A few undead hung around the entrance hall, shambling around aimlessly.

Several corpses were strewn about all having been trampled, he saw a few people with large foot marks on their faces. Bloody footprints lead to the front doors, which had been caked with blood. Nick covered his nose and mouth, unable to handle the stench of death. He hadn't noticed the still living corpse on the ground, reaching for his leg. He let out a cry of surprise, slamming back into the lockers his bat echoing through the empty hall as it slipped from his grasp.

"You fucking idiot!" Bryce snapped loudly, glaring at the baseball player. Nick grabbed his bat, slamming the tip down hard on the undead teenager.

"Me? I didn't see it you shit head, it wasn't my fault that I tripped."

"Guys we need to move!" Hinata said, looking back where they had come. The group that they had lead away before had grown in size, and was now trailing after them. The group of four headed toward the front doors, brushing though them briskly. Bryce slammed them closed, grabbing a discarded broom, slipping it through the handles of the door, as if that would do anything to hold them back.

Hinata pulled Nozomi along, leading her toward the firetruck that would serve as their ride. They slid to a stop, seeing the nearby undead shambling toward them. He pushed her forward, holding his wrench up.

"Get it started, we'll keep the area clear." he said.

"Okay." she said. Running toward the door.

Hinata ran to the nearest undead, slamming the wrench under its jaw, its head snapped back, neck snapping as the body fell to the ground limp. He kicked one off its feet, slamming his boot into its head, crushing its skull. Turning around, eyes widening when he saw a fireman. He was the same one that had been shambling around earlier. Hinata swung his wrench at him, forgetting the fact that he was wearing a helmet. It didn't even dent as the fireman kept walking toward him.

"Hinata, there aren't any keys!" Nozomi cried out, looking around the cab.

"Keep looking, there should be a spare somewhere." he called back. Pushing the fireman back into the side of the truck, its helmet came off, giving him the opening he needed. Its head caved in, the hard surface of the wrench hitting the water valve on the side of the truck. The hose came to life, spraying cold water all over the place.

"Shit!"

"Nice going idiot, now on top of attracting attention, we're gonna get wet!" Bryce said, bringing his club down on a nearby undead's head. The sound of glass shattering filled their ears, and they looked up briefly, seeing all of the infected pouring out of the entrance hall. He glared at Bryce, shaking his head.

"Oh and the broom was such a good idea!" he said sarcastically.

"I still can't find the damn keys!" Nozomi cried out, looking all over the cab. Hinata looked at the dead fireman, nodding to himself as he started searching its pockets.

"Bryce, Nick cover me while I search this body, he might have the keys, all firemen have spare keys!" he said, already searching the fire coat.

"Shut up, don't tell me what to do dweeb!"

"Jesus Christ, just swing already." Nick said, bringing his bat down on a nearby students head.

He pulled it back, swinging full force, taking ones head clean off its shoulders, blood sailed through the air, splashing all of them. Nozomi, still looking around, accidentally kicked the console, the alarms suddenly blaring to life. She sat up, eyes widened as she looked at her friends.

"Can you not do anything right you bitch?" Bryce snapped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean too!" the purple haired girl cried out. Hinata grit his teeth, if it wasn't a dire situation, he would have surely bashed the bastard's skull in. A nearby undead shambled toward him, his eyes widened briefly before Nick ended it's life.

"Ha! Take that ya Freak. You know, that has a nice ring to it, from now on, these things are Freaks!" he said, taking another swing at a nearby student. Hinata heard the bat crack a bit, and noticed all of the scuffs and dents that now littered the wooden club. He shook his head, the sirens were starting to annoy him, but he had to focus.

"I can't turn them off. They won't turn off!" Nozomi said, flicking all of the switches and buttons on the center console.

"Finally, I found the keys, get in!" Hinata said, jumping into the truck with Nozomi. Nick raced around the front, entering through the left side door, followed by Bryce. They locked the doors, rolling up the windows. Hinata handed the keys off to Nozomi who slipped them into the ignition. With a flick of the wrist, the truck roared to life, the engine purring loudly.

"It would be so much better without these alarms. If we leave they'll just follow the sound!" Bryce said. Nick was already searching the console for them. He had been in a firetruck as a kid, but hadn't remembered where the switch to turn them off was. Nozomi shifted into first gear, and took her foot off the brakes.

"Hinata, help me turn the wheel." she said. He nodded, grabbed the left side of the wheel, spinning it as fast as he could. It was a little easier than he thought, but it was still hard to move it.

Nozomi took a deep breath and floored the gas pedal, lurching the truck forward. Nozomi quickly straightened the wheel out, focusing on the front gates. The sounds of bodies hitting the truck filled their ears, even over the alarms that were blaring. Hinata looked at the mirror on the door, seeing the hose still whipping about, the water flying in all directions.

"We're not going fast enough, floor it Nozomi!" Bryce said.

"I am, it takes a while for heavy trucks to hit top speed." she snapped back, she was starting to get annoyed with her boyfriend. She was used to his derogatory comments, and the insults, but when he insulted Hinata, it was a different story. She slammed into the front of a parked Sedan, sending it careening into another car, making its alarm start blaring as well.

"Aha, found it!" Nick said, finally turning off the alarms.

He sat back in place, eyes widening when he saw the fast approaching gates. It must have been a reflex, but all of them closed their eyes, gritting their teeth hoping they were going fast enough. The sharp, echoing sound of the gates being broken right off their hinges filled their ears. The loud metallic bang filling the area as they fell onto the road. The truck was off its front wheels for a split second before slamming hard onto the pavement. Tokunosu West Academy was on a hill, so now they were moving fast down the main road leading out of it.

"Slow the fuck down! Before you kill us all!" Bryce cried. Nozomi grit her teeth, slamming her foot on the brakes. Hinata was half expecting to be sent flying through the windshield, like one would if they were in a regular car, but in heavy trucks the brakes only served to slow them down instead of pulling them to an instant stop. If they did, the back of the truck would keep going, and they would flip right over. Nozomi slowed down enough to drive at a normal speed.

"I'm turning left, help me Hinata." she said firmly, as the black haired teen helped her spin the wheel. It was a little easier this time. They didn't stop, the truck lifted off its wheels for a second before slamming back down, taking a couple doors off some abandoned cars.

"This road should take us toward the main street leading back into the city, but after we get there, what will we do? I don't live on this side of the city." Nick said.

"None of us do. That means we'll have to cross Onbetsu Bridge." Hinata said.

"Traffic must be backed up for half a mile or so, we'd never make it. We also stole a firetruck man, a firetruck." Bryce snapped.

"Dude, what is your issue? We got out just fine, who gives a flying fuck if we stole a firetruck or not? Martial Law is in effect, no one will give a shit." Nick snapped angrily.

"No one asked for your opinion asshole, so fuck off!" Bryce said. Nozomi pulled to a stop, her foot slamming so hard on the brake that Hinata thought they snapped right off. Hinata didn't even know where they were, they had passed by a Sevenson convenience store a few minutes back, the area still being relatively normal.

"Bryce, please stop arguing with Nick and Hinata, can't you see we are all trying to survive here? Nick is right, the police won't care that we stole a firetruck, it's a miracle we're even alive right now. So stop arguing." she cried.

"How can you take his side? We just met this bastard in the Nurse's office, why should his opinion matter? You always do this." the teen replied.

"It's because she's a nice person asshole, something you aren't." Hinata said, crossing his arms, his monkey wrench on his lap. Bryce clenched his fist, reaching over Nick's body to take a handful of his shirt.

"You are starting to piss me off. You think your hot shit because I'm dating your best friend. She's her own person, stop making her decisions for her!" he said.

"I don't think I am hot shit. But that doesn't change my mind, I still think you are an asshole. Nozomi deserves better than you, she deserves someone who loves her for who she is. Not someone who insults her, and hits her and fucking swears at her. I cannot believe you two have been dating for two years and you haven't done a single nice thing for her, not even a bouquet of flowers or chocolates, did you even wish her a happy birthday last week?" he asked angrily.

"Fuck you, that shit doesn't matter." Bryce said.

"Enough!" Nozomi shouted, slamming her fist onto the steering wheel, a loud foghorn filling the area. All three boys looked at Nozomi, the purple haired girl had a face of pure anger, her eyes though were filled with tears. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes firmly.

"Bryce...I love you with all my heart, I truly do. But Hinata is right, you've never done anything nice for me. I've been giving you second chance after second chance, it's always the same. You will act nice for two days before going back to your ways. You and Hide kept annoying Hinata, beating him up and making his life a living hell, and I'm sorry I didn't realize it before. I'm sorry, but we're done!" she said firmly.

"Are...are you serious? You are gonna side with this piece of shit?" Bryce asked, shaking Hinata a bit. The black haired teen grabbed his wrench, clenching his jaw.

"Let me go, before I kill you!" he said.

"Heh, you won't kill me, you are too pussy to kill me." Bryce scoffed.

"Oh am I? Ever since middle school you've made my life a living hell, you, and Hide and Tate, who I hope are fucking dead right now. You treated me like shit, stole my lunch money every day, made fun of me for loosing my father young, ripping my mangas to shreds whenever I got a new one that I liked.

I took it all, because I was trying to live a normal life, because I couldn't lose the only friend I had ever made in my life, but look around us. The dead are killing the living, these Freaks will stop at nothing until we are dead. I don't have need to have morals in this world, all I need to do is kill to survive. I can kill you right now, take revenge for the hell in the hallways you put me through these last few years." he said, a grin on his face. Bryce let him go, a scared look on his face.

"The dweeb isn't violent, you aren't violent at all Miyamoto. There is no way you can kill anyone." he said. Hinata rose his wrench above his head, even with the little room inside the truck, he was able to pull it back enough to give Bryce a fatal blow. The teen scrambled for the door, throwing it open.

"You're crazy...you're fucking crazy...I hope you all die. Nozomi I hope you rot in hell you fucking bitch. You are going to die with those Freaks, and you will deserve every second of agony." he shouted. Nick slammed the door closed, looking at the purple haired girl.

"Floor it, before I end up killing the bastard." he said. Nozomi nodded, and took her foot off the brakes, speeding off up the road. Hinata looked back, seeing Bryce's form still standing the middle of the road, that hateful glare on his face, right until he disappeared from sight.

"Zo, are you alright?" Hinata asked, looking at his best friend. She wiped her eyes briefly, giving him a nod.

"I'm fine. It's like a great weight was lifted from my shoulders...I should have done that months ago." she said.

"I know you feel empowered an all, but what will we do now?" Nick asked, having buckled his belt.

"Guess we'll just keep going with the original plan to cross the bridge...though what Bryce said does make sense. Traffic will be backed up, we might as well just get to the bridge and go on foot, at least until they get us across." Hinata said.

"Is that a wise idea though? The area is bound to be filled with people, people make noise and noise attracts the Freaks. Perhaps we should find another way to go, there are other bridges we can cross!" Nozomi said.

"All of them bound to be the same, even the pedestrian bridge will be blocked at this point...worst case scenario we just find a shallow area in the river and swim across." Nick said.

"Sounds like a plan. Man, it's already seven thirty. The sun will fully set in a few minutes." the black haired teen said, looking at the rapidly darkening skies.

He was tired, hungry and a bit annoyed, and it had only been six and a half hours since the school had gone down. If this was what it was going to be from now on, he didn't know how he would be able to handle it. He glanced at Nozomi, seeing just how focused on driving she was, which made him smile.

" _It'll be hard, but for her...I'm willing to do anything."_

"Hey boss man, you gonna hook up with her now?" Nick whispered into his ear. Hinata flushed, glaring at him.

"Hell no. Are you crazy? She's my best friend." he whispered back, making sure she didn't hear any of it. Nick chuckled, looking back at the road. There was a flaming bus blocking the tunnel which lead to town, which had forced them to keep going straight. Nozomi hastily turned left, flooring it over the grass.

"Hang on guys, there isn't another way over here unless we take that tunnel. It'll be rough, but just trust me." she said firmly. Hinata sat in the middle of the cab, buckling his own seat belt. Nozomi lurched the truck over the grassy bank, which immediately went down, the road being a few meters away. The front of the truck skid on the pavement sending sparks in all directions as the girl quickly turned the wheel. Nick gripped the door tightly, clenching his eyes shut.

"Oh god, please hurry up!"

"I'm trying, firetrucks aren't made for off roading!" the purplette cried back, sighing in relief when they were back on the road. She sped up, the road turning into a hill that lead down to the residential area. The truck picked up speed as they drove down, making Nozomi press the gas a bit hard to slow down enough.

"What the hell...it's not slowing down. It's taking too much pressure." She said firmly.

"That little trip over the hill might have done something to it. On top of that you smashed through thick iron gates and who knows how many cars and bodies...it might be wise to find another vehicle." Nick said firmly. She nodded.

"I'll pull over and we can...oh shit!"

She pressed the brakes down as hard as she could, but she was unable to stop. She ended up slamming into a police cruiser that had been blocking off the entrance to the street they were on. Sparks filled their vision as they slammed into a nearby wall, the windshield cracking as they came to a stop. All three of them sat there for a few seconds, catching their breath.

"Well, guess this is our stop." Hinata said, unbuckling his belt.

"Oh my god, I just killed two police officers, oh my god, oh my god."

"Hey, calm down. I'm sure those cruisers were empty. Let's just get out of here." Hinata said, placing his hands on her shoulders. She nodded, opening the door, jumping down to the pavement below. The hard slam had caused the firetruck's engine to stop entirely, meaning they couldn't use it even if they wanted too. It had served its purpose anyway. Hinata looked around, wrench tightly in his grasp.

"We'll need to move fast, that crash is bound to attract attention, and not the good kind." he said.

"We can't just walk off though, not here. The road stretches out for who knows how long, until we can actually find another road that leads into the residential areas, we shouldn't go on foot." Nick said.

"He's right...being out like this...we might as well be dead at that point." Nozomi added, securing her backpack onto her back. She had grabbed a few bottles of water and some snacks from the mini fridge in the nurses office before they had left the academy.

It pained her to leave her text books behind, but she wasn't going to need them anymore. Hinata looked around, spotting the other Police cruiser parked on the curb side. He didn't see any officers inside. He looked back to the one that the truck had slammed into, seeing the distinct shape of a human body. He walked over to it, peeking into the window.

"There are two cops inside, but it looks like they had turned into Freaks and were already dead." he said, opening the door. He took a quick look at their hands, seeing they were missing fingers. The distinct bite marks of the undead visible on the surface of their skin.

"So, I didn't kill them?" Nozomi asked, shaking a bit.

"Well, you _rekilled_ them, but no. You didn't kill them the first time." he said. He looked at their belt, nodding to himself. He grabbed the man by his shirt and pulled him out of the car, tossing the body onto the ground.

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing?" Nick asked, rather loudly. Hinata ignored him, and reached for the holster on the right side of the officer's hip. He pulled the top of it, pulling out what was inside.

It was a standard issue Smith and Wesson Airweight, a .38 caliber handgun which was used by the local police force. He looked at it closely, opening the cylinder.

"One round was used, if I had to guess, this guy took his partner out after he had turned, explaining the bite." he said. He dug his hand in the man's pocket, pulling out a few extra rounds, five in total.

"That's a real gun, that's a _real_ gun. Are you sure you can even use it?" Nick said. Hinata nodded, setting it aside. He reached into the other pockets, pulling out the handcuffs and the baton they normally carried.

"I can use it. My mom works at the East Police Station as a Dispatch and Emergency operator. Even they have to carry around weapons for safety. She taught me how to use this particular handgun." he said firmly.

After he was done his initial search, he decided to take off the officers Utility belt entirely. Once it was off, he took his own off and slipped the new one through the belt loops, securing it at the front. He grabbed the gun, placing it in the holster, and placed the extra rounds in the handcuff pocket, as he wouldn't be using those at all. He handed the baton off to Nozomi, who looked at it closely.

"Flick your wrist to extend it. To retract it, press the button on the side and push it from the top. Figured it weighs less than that crow bar, it's easier to swing." he said. He made his way back into the car, reaching for the second officer's gun.

He was able to pull it free from its holster, and recover the extra ammunition, but he wasn't able to get his baton. He opened the glove compartment, seeing a case of spare bullets and road flares, six of them. Pulling them out, he exited the car, walking back toward Nick. He held the gun toward him, the teen shaking his head.

"No man, I can't use that thing. I'll probably shoot myself on accident." he said. Hinata chuckled, shaking his head.

"It isn't that hard man. This version of the Smith and Wesson .38 special is a double action, meaning you don't have to pull the hammer back if you want to load another cartridge into the chamber. It holds five rounds in the cylinder, and this little button here opens it. You press the little bar to empty it and just slide the new bullets inside. The best part about this gun is the fact that its so small, no one will think you have one, which makes it the perfect carry gun." he said firmly.

"Wow, you have a lot of knowledge on this stuff huh?" Nick said.

"His mother has been teaching him how to fire guns for the last three years. Last summer she taught us how to load and unload an MP5, another standard issue gun used by the SAT officers." Nozomi said.

"That was a blast, I remember you screaming when I used the select fire model. But anyway, I found an extra case of bullets, we can split them in half, these usually have twenty five rounds, but it feels a little off." Hinata said, handing Nick the gun.

He looked at it oddly, slipping it into his pocket, making sure the hammer wasn't cocked. He didn't ever see himself using it, but the need might present itself soon. Hinata opened the case, seeing twenty rounds in the case. He grabbed ten of them, handing them to Nick, taking the last ten for himself. Tossing the box aside, he made his way toward the other police cruiser, opening the door.

"It's open, great. Let's get a move on." he said, flicking the lock switch for them. He got out of the car and opened the back door.

"One of us will have to ride in the back, I'll take over driving for now okay Zo, you did enough getting us out of the school." he said.

"Thank you Hinata. I'll go in the back." she said.

"No, I'll go in the back. Police car doors don't open from the inside, so if something happens, I would want you two to get out first. I can just shoot the glass." Nick said.

"Are you sure?" Hinata asked.

"Positive." he said. He took off his backpack and tossed it into the back of the car, closing the door after himself. Nozomi got into the passenger side, and Hinata slipped himself into the drivers seat, closing the door behind him, and locking it for good measure. He looked around for a few seconds, lowering the sun visor only for the spare key to fall into his lap. He chuckled dryly.

"I wasn't expecting it to be that easy, guess we're on God's good humor." he said, slipping the key into the ignition. The car roared to life, the red and blue lights flashing brightly, thankfully there was no alarm this time. He eased the car into reverse, and backed up, doing a U-turn before slowly driving up the street.

"Nozomi, that tablet in front of you holds the information of every criminal in Tokunosu, but it also acts like a GPS, your smart enough to figure it out, search for the nearest street access to Onbetsu Bridge." he said.

"Okay." she said, pulling the tablet closer to her. She turned it on, swiping her finger across the screen as she started looking for the GPS function.

"Never thought I would ever find myself in the back of a Police car. Tch, my dad always said, if he ever found out I got arrested, he would put me through boot camp." he said jokingly, chuckling a bit.

"My mom is the same way. She doesn't mind if I become a police officer, but she doesn't want to see me in a holding cell. I was actually thinking about joining the force after high school. My dream though, I wanna fly an F-15 Eagle." he said, a smile on his face.

"The Air Force? Nice choice. Those planes are awesome, my dad took me to an Air Force base and I saw tons of F-16s, even an Ac130. That thing is freaking huge!" Nick said, remembering the time he and his father had gone down to the Air Force base in Okinawa. He smiled a bit, leaning back in his seat.

"That was the last time I saw my old man, I was fourteen at the time. It's been three years since then, and I haven't seen him since. We talk sure, but he's always out on call..hopefully he's safe wherever he is." Nick said, a sad tone in his voice.

"I'm sorry that your dad isn't in town Nick, but if he's a Marine, there's no doubt he can handle himself. I just hope my mom is fine too, if there's a shortage of officers, they'll call others into service and I don't want anything bad to happen to her." he said.

"What about your father?" Nick asked curiously. Hinata's look hardened, his grip on the wheel tightening.

"Nick..that's something we usually don't like to talk about." Nozomi said, looking from the screen. The teen nodded, leaning back in his seat.

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to bring back bad memories or anything."

"It's cool, you didn't know after all. Nozomi's mother is a second grade teacher in Shintoko Third Elementary, if the situation is the same there, which I hope that isn't the case, then they should have put the building under lock down. She wouldn't leave her class unattended after all." He said

"My father is a Nuclear Physicist, so he's down in the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant. Hopefully, nothing bad happens to him there, though there was news about the reactors being shut down for maintenance for a few months. It most likely happened earlier this month, so he should be fine." she said.

"Wow, that's a pretty dangerous job, especially with all the radiation and junk." Nick said.

"I know, but he loves his job. He was into Nuclear Physics as a kid, and that's how he met mother. Both of them had the same classes together, but she stopped attending after awhile, choosing to pursue a career in teaching. He found that admirable, and soon enough they got hitched. I popped out a year later. Me and Hinata met in first grade, and my mom was our teacher. It was hard not being the teacher's pet." she said with a bright smile.

"Please, if anything I was the teacher's pet, your mom absolutely adores me!" Hinata said in a haughty tone.

"Ha! You are funny you know that." she replied.

"Thanks, I'll be here all week." he replied. She turned her attention back to the tablet, a frown on her face.

"It says here that all major roads leading to Onbetsu Bridge are blocked with traffic. This shows all of the police stops too, it's also urging all available officers to help with securing the bridges. Tokunosu Bridge is the same, the Toku Pedestrian bridge is shut down, and I3 East is also shut down." She said.

"Shit...that just makes our situation that much harder." he muttered sadly. The radio suddenly came to life, a buzz filling the car.

" _All available officers please report to River Street for assistance. All available officers please report to River Street for assistance."_

"That's..." Nozomi looked at Hinata as he grabbed the radio, pressing the talk button.

"Mom, is that you? Talk to me if it is. It's Hinata!" he cried into the radio, letting go of the button. It was silent for a few seconds, before the voice filled the car again.

" _Hinata sweetie, I'm so glad you are alright. Are you with an officer right now? I've been trying to reach your cell for the last three hours but there's no signal."_ she cried out. Hinata let out a sigh of relief, clearing his throat.

"No mom, I'm not with an officer. Don't get mad at me, but I stole a cop car. Nozomi and a friend of ours, Nick, were able to escape Tokunosu West Academy in a firetruck. It was horrible mom, all of the students and faculty, they were tearing each other apart, we almost died leaving the school." he said. He wasn't going to tell her about how Nozomi had slammed into a police cruiser, that was something she didn't need to know.

" _(Sigh) Alright, as long as the officers in the area weren't around, I guess it's fine. Not like they can stop you either."_

"They had turned into those Freaks. Me and Nick took them down, I was able to recover their guns and their spare bullets, don't worry I'm not going to be reckless with it. I only have it as a back up. Nozomi has a spare baton I was able to recover as well."

" _That's fine. It's better you than some random thug. Calls have been streaming in all day, the lines had to be shut down while we handled them all, and I don't know if they'll be back. Their sending out everyone, even the people from accounting. I'm suiting up as we speak, they have a shortage of SAT officers. The East Police station was turned into a shelter, your Uncle and I are going to be heading to Shintoko Third Elementary to get Lila and make sure her class is safe and sound. Have you gotten in touch with your cousin?"_

"No, I didn't bother calling anyone, besides she won't have her cellphone on her, I can only pray she got out of Fujimi Academy alive." he said.

" _Okay then. The bridges are all blocked with traffic, so as soon as you can make it across, meet me at the East Police Station. Try not to make it obvious that you have guns, and leave the cruiser behind as well. I don't want you getting arrested on top of the shit that's going on."_

"Understood mom. Hey, in case anything happens...I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart. I'll do my best to get to the East Police Station, but you never know what may happen." he said firmly. The line was silent for a few seconds, before filling with the woman's voice of worry.

" _I understand. I love you too sweetie...and I want to see you and Nozomi again. I promised her parents I would protect her should I get the chance. So please take care of her for me."_

"Will do...see you later mom...good luck."

The line stayed silent after that. Hinata knew she must have been too busy to respond. If they were calling down people from Accounting into service, then that meant all of the officers were either busy dealing with the riots, or dying slowly. He shook it off, turning into another street, finally getting into the residential areas of the city. They were on one of the main streets, filled with big end stores and shops. Several cars had been abandoned, and bodies littered the road, some had their heads smashed, others had bullet holes.

"Christ, it's so much worse here." Nick said quietly, looking out the window. There was a barrel on a street corner, a towering blaze coming from it. The sounds of gunfire filled the area, along with the distinct sound of glass breaking.

"A viral outbreak being masked as mass rioting and looting, at least that's what the news reports said, I doubt that's an issue now. Those idiots, can't they see making all of this unnecessary noise is only going to bring more Freaks toward them?" Hinata asked, his hands tightening on the wheel.

"I don't think they care, so long as they can get a PlayStation 4 and a Flatscreen television, dumb asses, the power won't last long if all of the electrical technicians are focused on eating each other." Nick said.

A sudden bang filled their ears, the car rocking a bit. Nozomi let out a scream, lowering her head from the glass. Hinata looked out her window, seeing several people aiming _guns_ at them. He recognized the muzzle of a Mossberg 500 pump action shotgun, as well as the barrel of a Winchester .22 long rifle. He pressed the gas pedal and sped up, trying to get out of there.

The man with the shotgun fired at them again, hitting the car twice on the front side, popping one of the tires with the spread of it. The man with the long rifle fired at them, knocking out their back windshield, the bullet lodged itself on the edge of the roof. Hinata hastily turned into another street, slamming into another car.

"Goddamn it. We're not dead, why the fuck would you shoot at us?" Nick shouted through the broken glass, as if they would hear them. Hinata shook his head, and opened the door, flicking he lock for Nozomi to get out.

"None of you are hurt right? You're fine?"

"Eh, other than glass down my shirt, I'm fine. What about you Nozomi?" Nick asked.

"I'm fine. Thankfully, it wasn't Buck shot being fired at us, that would have been bad." she said, opening the door. Hinata put his bag back on, and opened the door for Nick to get out, flicking the switch to open the trunk. He walked to the back of the car, opening the door. He frowned, not seeing much to work with. There were no vests or anything like he had been expecting. He saw several spare cases of 25 Buckshot, and decided to put them in his backpack.

"What are you grabbing that stuff for? You don't have a shotgun." Nick said.

"Doesn't mean I won't find one. Is it better to be smart? Or Lucky?" Hinata asked curiously. The teen shrugged.

"Well, I guess it depends on the situation. Luck can hit anyone at any time, but it takes smarts to use that luck in your favor." He said.

"You and I see a lot of stuff the same way it seems. Come on, we best start making our way to some safe place. There's a gas station not that far from here, I saw it on the GPS before I got out of the car. We can stay there until morning and eat some stuff, get some food for the road before heading out." Hinata said.

"Sounds like a plan. By your lead then." Nick said, once again taking up the rear with his worn down baseball bat.

Hinata took a hold of Nozomi's hand, holding his wrench tightly in his other. The girl blushed a bit, but didn't question it at all. She found it quite reassuring that her friend was nearby. Thankfully, they were able to make it to the nearby gas station without any issues.

It was a small store, the lights were still on, and the place looked ransacked, as several things had been spilled onto the floor. Hinata let go of Nozomi's hand, and slipped his wrench into his belt, pulling out his gun instead. The door was thankfully not automatic, so they could get in and lock it after themselves.

"Nick, I want you to stay in the front with Nozomi, keep her safe while I scan the rest of the store. Don't hesitate to shoot and don't hesitate to kill if anyone comes in trying to kill you. Alright?" he said. Nick swallowed hard, but gave him a firm nod, his own gun already in his hand. Hinata opened the door, the little _ding dong_ ringing as they all entered.

The first thing Hinata did was walk carefully down the small aisles, his gun raised and ready to fire. The turned into the second aisle and then the third, not finding anything, other than spilled products. The storefront was clear, and he gave Nick a thumbs up.

"Lock up, and start blocking the door with whatever you can find. If you can chain up the door, even better. I'll be checking the back." he said, walking around the counter.

"Be careful Hinata." Nozomi called out, clearly worried for her friend.

He gave her a bright smile, slipping through the door. The first thing he did was flick the lights on. He looked around, not seeing anyone. He started moving slowly, the loud purr of the refrigerators filling the entire room. It was cold, making him shiver a bit as he walked around, avoiding knocked over boxes. He walked further into the back, taking a peek through the refrigerators to check on his friends, who were busy blocking the door.

He heard something near him and pointed his gun in that direction. The back room opened up ahead of him, and turned into another area where all of the extra alcohol was being kept. He walked further into the back, seeing a macabre scene before him.

On the ground was the body of a store worker, a bright nametag was pinned to his apron, his name being written in bold black letters. His head was completely missing, blood and brain matter had splattered against the back wall, the reason for that was the shotgun next to the body. There was another man there, currently taking large chunks of flesh from inside the chest cavity of the other man. He was also wearing an apron and a name tag.

Hinata swallowed hard, pulling the hammer of his gun. The audible click was enough to get the attention of the Freak currently eating his co-worker. Blood dripped from his chin, flesh still stuck between its teeth. His hands were soaked in it, and were still holding a large piece of what Hinata assumed was the intestine. It looked almost like a long sausage link, and in his mind after that thought, he wouldn't be able to see sausage the same way again. The man shuffled toward him, his bloodied hands reaching outward to him.

"I'm sorry this happened too you." Hinata said sadly. He pulled the trigger of his gun, the loud bang echoing through the backroom. The man's body dropped down limp, hands still holding onto the piece of intestine he had been eating. Hinata walked forward, grabbing the shotgun the other man had used to kill himself. Holstering his gun, he looked closer at the shotgun.

It was a sleek black color, around eighteen inches in length or so, with iron sight at the tip of the barrel. It had an oak colored pump on the bottom, which was dotted in a bit of blood. It had a grooved handle and smooth black buttstock, with a brown shoulder pad on the end of it. Hinata recognized it as a Benelli Nova Tactical shotgun. It was a common riot and suppression shotgun used by the police force.

He remembered his mother telling him about all the times she had to practice with them, and had come back with a sore shoulder. It was a 12 gauge, so the ammunition he had on him would actually have some use. He pulled the pump back, ejecting the spent shell casing, the hollow echo filling his ear. There were four still loaded into the tube, with one in the chamber, meaning this particular model chambered six rounds, seven if he could get one in the chamber. He nodded to himself and walked back to the storefront, after double checking the area.

"Are you alright, I heard the gunshot." Nozomi said, checking her friend over.

"I'm fine. The employees had turned into Freaks. Hey Nick, remember how I asked you if it was better to be smart or lucky? I think the latter part came into effect." he said, holding up the shotgun.

"No way, you lucky bastard. I suppose it suits you, seeing as you have the knowledge on guns, at least enough to use it." He said.

"Yeah, and I have some use for the ammunition, though by the looks of this, I don't think I'll find the extra shells being kept here. Oh well I guess." he said, sitting on top of the counter. He looked toward the front door, seeing what looked like metal shelves stacked against the doors, being held in place by large propane tanks.

"We had to go outside and bust the lock in order to get those tanks. The doors are locked and chained, so no one will get inside, unless they break the glass windows." Nick said, following his gaze.

"It's best if we shut off the lights, I saw a couple battery powered lamps near the back." he said, slinging the shotgun on his shoulder. It wasn't long before the lights had been turned off, even the ones belonging to the pumps. He had also taken down the open signs, to further darken the store. They all sat by the back of the store, next to the refrigerators, using their bulbs as a light source, though they had three bright lamps in the center of the floor. They had gathered several bottles of water and soda, and tons of food which they had been eating. Hinata leaned back against the fridge doors, looking at the clock on his phone.

"1:45AM. Man what a day." he muttered, closing his phone.

"Tell me about it. If this is how it's gonna be, I don't know how we're gonna make it." Nick said, disdain filling his voice.

"Aw come on Nick, we'll make it. Hinata has been keeping us sane right? I'm sure he'll come up with something." Nozomi said, glancing at her friend, who was holding his shotgun rather tightly.

"Yeah, all I can say and do is get us out of the city, some place rural will work, maybe a farm somewhere where we can grow crops and get some fresh well water." he said.

"Not a bad plan. I have your back if anything, it's the least I can do after you saved me from the school." Nick said.

"Get some sleep, I'll take first watch, maybe turn the news on and see how its going." he said, gesturing to the television by the register. It was on an arm mount, so he could just turn it in this direction. Nick nodded, and grabbed a couple flat boxes, making a makeshift pillow out of them.

"Well, see ya in the morning. If you get tired don't hesitate to call me, I'll take over for you." he said firmly. Hinata nodded, glancing toward the other end of the store. Nozomi decided to sit next to Hinata, leaning against his left arm. She hugged it tightly, settling into it.

"Goodnight Hinata, thanks for everything." she said softly, falling asleep seconds after. He smiled a bit, glancing at Nick who was wiggling his brows.

"Don't make me shoot you!" he hissed, earning a chuckle from him. Hinata sighed audibly, blinking a few times to keep himself awake. It was only the first night, he really didn't want to see what the next day would be like for him and his friends.


	3. Streets of the Dead

**A/N: Hello, welcome one and all to Chapter 3 of Those Who Walk Among the Dead. I am still without internet and am scraping the bottom of my data barrel, but I will use every last Mega Byte in order to post my lovely stories so that you, the audience can read them. You've all been faithful little Dragons, and you deserve quality writing, no matter the cost.**

 **Yesterday was, a hard day for all of us, for those who watched the Walking Dead at least. There isn't a word I can use to describe that episode, nothing is right anymore and I just don't know how to feel. It was a great episode if not one of the darkest the series has done, and for that I applaud you. As a fan, I am loving it, but as a person I am extremely fucking pissed. But it is what it is, I was able to get through Danganronpa 3, I can make it through Season 7 of the Walking Dead. In lieu of that, I decided to post this chapter, for all of you to enjoy, so please tell me how I did. And please refrain from spoiling the Walking Dead for anyone in the comment section, if you wish to leave a review that is, the Highschool of the Dead Fanfiction Folder is as dead as the series at this point, and it's such a shame that barely anyone updates anymore, but I shouldn't say anything considering I abandoned my own fanfiction months ago. But hopefully this one will do it justice. So please enjoy it...**

 **As of March 25th 2017, Chapter 3 has been re edited. Minor fixes to dialogue and paragraph length. Some things had been removed and others have been added. Minor editing has also been done.**

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 3

Streets of the Dead

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but when he woke up, it was already part first light. It was actually Nozomi who had woken him up, a tired look on her face. He jolted a bit, climbing onto his feet seconds later. He stretched, popping his back. He felt the strap of his shotgun, and frowned, his surroundings had been the same as the previous night, making him remember everything that happened. For a split second, he thought everything had been a dream, but that would be too convenient for him. Wordlessly, Nozomi handed him a small travel kit, that had a tooth brush and some generic paste that he didn't particularly care for.

"There's a bathroom near the front counter." she said, earning a nod from him. He brushed past Nick who was standing by the counter, eyes focused on the television set in front of him. He walked into the bathroom, closing the door after himself. The first thing he did was take a piss, having had the urge since the day before, he felt relieved to finally empty his bladder. The second thing he did was walk over to the sink, looking at himself in the small mounted mirror.

It had only been a day, but even now he looked like hell. His eyes were a bit puffy and dark, from his lack of sleep during the night, and his face had specks of blood on it, from his many encounters with the Freaks. The long scar that trailed across his eye was still visible, even now. It was something that hadn't bothered him at all growing up, but now that he had grown up, it sort of haunted him. Shaking his head, he opened the tap, and started brushing his teeth.

" _The faster we get out of this store, the better. I don't even know what time it is, but the congestion in the bridge must have only gotten worse. Hopefully the Police let us through."_ he thought to himself.

He finished brushing his teeth, washing off the small brush and slipping it back into its case, which he shoved in his back pocket, along with his tooth paste. He didn't know how long it would last, but it at least gave him a bit of normalcy. He left the bathroom, having washed his face free of blood. He was sweating a bit, due to the air conditioning in the store being off, as it was still early Spring. He stopped next to Nick, glancing at the television screen.

"Hey man, morning." he said.

"Good Morning, how are things?" he asked quietly.

"Not good, it seems every single country in the world is enacting safety measures. The transfer of power is something being talked about in America, seems a few cabinet members were bitten and they were trying to replace them, it's a fucking shame Trump wasn't president yet." he said firmly, making Hinata chuckle.

"I agree there. You're American right? I can tell by the way you speak and how you carry yourself." the black haired teen said.

"Yup, grew up around Detroit most of my life. My dad was stationed here in Japan, so he paid for me to move here to Tokunosu and had an Army instructor teach me how to speak Japanese. It was fun, and I was still pretty young, so it stuck with me. Sort of a shame to see my home country in such a shitty state though." he said.

"Japan isn't doing to well either...the Prime Minister was bitten late last night and reports came in saying he had been killed by one of his Diet members. The transfer of power will only go down from here, let's just hope people don't start shooting missiles into the air yet, if at all. We don't need a repeat of World War II." Hinata said, cracking his neck.

"In more local news, it seems the evacuation of West Tokunosu has come to a stand still, due to all of the infected people, they are starting counter active measures. No one is being let in unless they are fully screened, even if they haven't been bitten. Those who refuse are sent back the way they came, with their children if they have them. It won't be long until it all falls apart." Nick said.

"Beautiful, just what we need. The Police are doing whats best for the citizenry, but that's just pissing people off. Several people were protesting through the night, and that will only make things worse than they are. Hopefully my mother and my uncle are alright, they're cops so they should be fine. Securing the East Police Station was priority, at least that's how my mom made it sound." he muttered.

"Oh yeah, your Uncle is a cop too right? You must be very lucky, coming from a family of police officers. At least have the knowledge on firearms that most people lack, and it seems Nozomi can handle herself well too." he said, glancing at the purplette currently filling a large cup with blue slushie, she took a gulp out of it, clutching her head.

"Fuck...I hate brain freeze!" she cried out, making the two men laugh.

"Yeah, we've been around police officers all our lives, and mom has given her some basic training for self defense. My uncle Tadashi normally taught us all about firearms in his spare time, and has a decent collection of them too, my cousin also learned how to use a spear thanks to him. He offered to teach me spear martial arts but I refused, something about fighting with a sharp stick didn't appease me." he said with a chuckle.

"Well, a sharp stick would be very useful in this situation, regardless I think it's time we hit the trail. Tokunosu Bridge shouldn't be that far from here, but walking there will only serve to tire us out." he replied.

"It won't be a direct route either, especially with all of those Freaks outside. If only there was a way to distract them." he said, eyes falling onto the propane tanks that had been used as a barricade. A smile worked its way onto his face.

"Yes, that will do. Alright guys, pack up what you think you can carry, remember to travel light." he said firmly, looking at his friends.

The two of them grabbed their backpacks, and started putting some basic necessities inside. Hinata himself had grabbed some water bottles, neatly placing them in his bag, making sure he had enough space as he had been carrying a lot of medical supplies. He wished he had a larger backpack, but at this rate, he was happy to even have one.

After placing a couple days worth of food inside, and all of the small snacks he could carry, he zipped it up. He grabbed the three cases of shotgun shells and placed two in the outer pockets, zipping them enough for them not to fall out, but open enough for him to reach inside if he needed too. He emptied one, shoving the shells in his jacket pocket, clipping the pockets shut afterwords. He loaded an extra shell into the tube and cocked it, shoving another one to take it's place.

"Alright, ready to go?" he asked, earning a nod from the two.

He slung his shotgun and walked to the front of the store, peeking out from the gaps between the shelves, not seeing a single soul in sight. He grabbed the propane tanks and moved them aside, carefully moving the shelf as to not let it fall. He untied the knot made in the rope and pulled it off, unlocking the door.

"I have an idea on how to clear the streets enough for us to make it to Tokunosu Bridge without much trouble. We have to haul ass afterwards, which is why it told you to pack light." he said.

"What do you have in mind?" Nozomi asked curiously.

"Grab a tank, I'll show you." he said, grabbing one of the small propane tanks. Nick and Nozomi shared a look but didn't question it, grabbing a tank themselves. Hinata walked over to the nearest gas pump, and placed the gas tank on top of it.

He grabbed the two that his friends had, placing them at the bottom. He pulled the hose from the receiver and pulled out some money from his wallet, hell he wouldn't be needing it. Once he slipped it into the machine, he selected the gas he wanted and pressed the trigger, spraying the pump with gas.

"Jesus Christ, you aren't planning to do what we think you are going to do right? _Right?_ " Nick asked, getting a grin from the black haired teen. He tossed the hose aside, which still sprayed gas all over the ground.

"Come on." he said, running across the street, toward a nearby alleyway. He pulled a flare from his backpack, from the ones he had salvaged the previous night. He pulled the cover off of it and struck it lit, the red firelight spraying from the top. He lobbed it across the street, aiming for the gas pump. It hit the corner of it, failing to ignite the gas.

"Shit...me and my luck." he muttered.

"It's a good thing it didn't go off, dude that will kill all of us." Nick said.

"No it won't. Hmm, well I've been dying to fire this thing, and I did load slugs into it." he said, grabbing his shotgun. He placed it on his shoulder, taking a deep breath, remembering what his uncle told him.

" _Remember, shotguns have a bigger kick back than handguns and rifles. You need to put your leading foot forward and shoulder the gun. Aim for the chest and lean into it. After the first shot, shift the muzzle a tiny bit, and then fire again. If you don't do this, than your shot will go off target. Turkey shot will give you a good spread, enough to injure a person, but never shoot to kill unless you have too."_

Hinata nodded to himself, flicking the safety lock on the side of the gun. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the tank on top of the pump. He was 200 maybe 300 meters out, but the spread should still reach it. And even if he didn't, he just needed a spark.

"Hinata, please think about this for a second!" Nozomi said. He grinned, licking his lips.

" _I've always wanted to do something like this, guess I have my golden opportunity."_

With that thought, he pulled the trigger, a surprised grunt escaping his lips. The gun had kicked back harder than he remembered. The spread struck the tank, and the pump, lighting both on fire. He turned around, eyes widening in shock and sheer joy.

"Run for it!"

They did just that, moving toward the end of the alleyway. They heard a loud fizzing sound as they ran away, only for that fizz to turn into a loud explosion. Even with their distance, the sheer power of the explosion had been enough to knock them on their asses. Several explosions followed right after, the top awning of the gas station flew upward several hundred feet, falling to the ground in a heap, a loud metallic bang filling the area. The sound of shattering glass was accompanied by the sound of a building crumbling. Smoke and fire filled the air, the loud sound echoing through the area. Hinata let out a loud laugh, clutching his shotgun tightly.

"Yes, that was fucking awesome! Whoo hoo!"

"Goddamn it, this isn't the time to become a damn rebel. Get your ass up, the Freaks will start showing up in numbers now." Nick said, pulling him to his feet. Hinata nodded, ejecting the spent shell casing to the ground, the three friends ran off, heading in the general direction of the bridge.

"Guys, do you know what time it is? My phone is completely dead." Hinata said, it had been around half an our since leaving the store, and they had gotten closer to the bridge, but the sheer number of cars was alarming. Police officers were also walking around, so they couldn't afford to be seen, especially with him carrying a shotgun, and items belonging to a police officer.

"It was around eleven thirty when we left, that would put us on or around noontime." Nick said.

"I slept that long? Jeez why didn't you wake me earlier?" he asked.

"I told him to let you sleep. We were all tired, but you were more tired than both of us, you kept watch after all." Nozomi said firmly. He sighed, shaking his head.

"It can't be helped. We have to find a way onto the bridge, I can hide my handgun, but I can't hide the shotgun and I am not ditching it." he said.

"Martial Law has been established dude, it's not illegal for us to have it, but do hide the handgun, they won't care about the belt. Bedsides can't you tell them your mother is a cop and allowed you to use them?" Nick asked.

"I could, but the western Prefectural Police works with the West Police Station, so they get their orders from their Commander, though the HQ is the same. They might let me off, besides it's not like I'll just hand it over either." he said.

He took his .38 from his holster and shoved it in his backpack, making sure the hammer wasn't accidentally cocked or anything, though he did remove the bullets from it just in case. Nozomi put away her baton, resorting to using her crowbar again. With a nod, the three walked out from the alleyway they were in and raced toward the other side of the street, following the throng of people headed in the same direction, toward Tokunosu Bridge.

The Bridge in question was the only one in the entire city that was suspended. It was large and thick metal wires hooked into the tall tower structures which kept the bridge suspended above the water. Originally, it was a suspension bridge but due to the possibility of quakes in the area, support structures had been placed. It had four lanes, two going East and two going West, a large set of stairs lead higher up, leading from the river embankment below it.

The area underneath the bridge was a common camp for the homeless, though at this rate, he doubted there were any homeless left on the streets as they were most likely the first ones to go. All four lanes were filled with traffic, some cars had been abandoned, making it even worse for those trying to actually get on the bridge. A few people grew restless when they saw Hinata's shotgun, but he only tightened his hold on it, as to not have it being stolen by anyone.

"Man, this is going to be fun!" Nick muttered, holding his bat tightly in his hand.

"Tell me about it." Hinata replied, looking at all of the other survivors, each carrying suitcases, backpack and in some cases their children as they tried to cross the bridge, abandoning their cars entirely. They passed by a large coach bus, filled to the brim with people, all of the windows had been rolled down, most likely due it being so hot in there.

"Well well well, look what the cat dragged in!" a voice said, it was a voice familiar to both Hinata and Nozomi. They both looked up ahead, seeing the familiar faces of their fellow classmates.

The first one was a young man, with slicked black hair, and bright brown eyes. He was wearing a thick gold chain around his neck. He had light colored skin, his face dotted with freckles, the smirk on his face never leaving. He was wearing a black blazer, which he had pulled free from his jeans. Underneath he wore a white tee shirt, his tie having been taken off at some point. He wore worn down sneakers, the laces firmly tied. There was a cigarette at the corner of his mouth, the smoke billowing into the air around him. This young man was named Hide, and was one of Hinata's many tormentors while at Tokunosu West Academy.

Next to him sat a beautiful young woman, with long blonde hair, which was a bit curled at the ends. She had dark tan skin, which made her look like she had gotten a spray tan. Her eyes were light blue in color and her lips were covered in light pink lipstick.

She was wearing the same blazer that Nozomi was wearing, though she had hers unbuttoned, and her tie was loosened a bit. Her skirt was a bit shorter than Nozomi's but was the same style and color, the ends being torn and frayed. She had on short black socks and white colored sneakers. Several charms were hanging from her pocket, most likely attached to her cellphone. This young woman was one of the cheerleaders of the school, her name was Melanie.

The girl next to her had a bored look on her face, her long black hair was flowing in the wind. She had ivory colored skin, and bright colored eyes. She had a small button nose and full lips, her cheeks being dotted with a bit of blush. Unlike her friend Melanie, this girl had taken her blazer off, staying in her long sleeved shirt, which she had rolled up.

She had ditched her tie, having her shirt unbuttoned. Her skirt was torn a bit, revealing a little bit of her pink panties. She was wearing long black stockings that ended above the knee, along with black leather boots. She was looking at her reflection in a small compact mirror. Her name was Serena, one of the girl's that normally hung around Hide.

The final person in their group was a tall young man, with shoulder length brown hair. He had a scowl on his face, with thin brows and hazel colored eyes. He was leaning against the span of the bridge, hands shoved in his pockets, his blazer being unbuttoned. He wore a black shirt underneath it. He was wearing a pair of slim straight slacks, stuffed into worn looking sneakers.

He had a road stake in his hands, the end having been sharpened to a point. His name was Tate, and he was Hide's best friend and right hand man in tormenting the kids at school. Locking eyes with Hinata, both of them pushed themselves to their feet, smirking at him.

"I wasn't expecting a loser like you to make it this far." Hide said. Hinata chuckled, shaking his head.

"It wasn't hard to leave the academy, not when there was a perfectly good firetruck we could have used." he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"That was you guys? Jeez, I wasn't expecting a loser to come up with a half brained scheme like that." Melanie said, arms crossed, a look of surprise on her face.

"Well sometimes losers come up with better plans because we actually use our brains. You gonna keep talking Cheerleader?" Nick snapped, cracking his knuckles.

"The gangs all here it seems, they even have Vice President Nozomi with them, and whats that? A BB gun? As if that will do damage on those freaks." Hide said, looking at the shotgun in Hinata's hands. He grinned, resting it on his shoulder.

"Nope, this is the real deal. Got a hell of a kickback, I can show you if you want, I don't mind wasting some buckshot." he said.

"I'd rather you didn't. These cars are making enough loud noise, and we don't need attracting attention to ourselves. Look, I know none of us get along with each other, but it might be best to stick together, Crusader pride and all." Serena said. Hinata chuckled, brushing past them as he walked further up the sidewalk.

"Screw you guys and Crusader pride. Tokunosu West Academy can kiss my ass...for what it's worth, good luck." he said, giving them a wave as they moved along. Hide grit his teeth, grabbing his wooden stake.

"Grab the money Melanie, we're gonna follow them." he said, earning a nod from the blonde, who grabbed the bag of money beside her.

"I didn't think you were friends with those guys Hinata." Nick muttered, matching the black haired teen's pace.

"Ha! You are one funny guy. I am not friends with any of them, out of all four of them, Serena is the most tolerable. Knowing Hide, he probably robbed a bank and is planning on using that money in the arcade across town. I don't have the time nor the effort to deal with them." he replied. He walked off the sidewalk, cutting through some cars to avoid a large group of people. They walked past a bus, the name Fujimi Academy written on the side. He paused briefly, looking at the bus closely. He locked eyes with a pink haired girl who was looking out the window.

She looked very familiar to him, having long pink hair tied into twin tails with white ribbons. She had bright greenish hazel eyes, and a pair of small framed glasses. He saw part of her shirt, which was white in color and was covered in blood, she was also wearing a green ascot, which was something that the girl's uniform in Fujimi Academy had. She looked at him for a few seconds, eyeing the shotgun in his hands.

" _Hello to you too Miss Takagi."_ he thought to himself.

"Yo, is something wrong man? You've been staring at this bus for a couple minutes now." Nick said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Nozomi looked at him, concern written on her face.

"Sorry, this bus is from Fujimi Academy, I just had some little sliver of hope in my heart, that my cousin would be on this bus." he said, looking at him.

"What's her name? I don't think you ever told me." he said.

"Her name is Rei Miyamoto, she's in class 2-B, though she should be in in her third year, if it wasn't for...never mind. Let's just go." he said, walking ahead. He didn't even see the look of surprise the pink haired girl had given him.

"Hey, wait up bastard!" Hide cried out, finally catching up to Hinata and his friends. The young man sighed, his grip on his shotgun tightening a bit.

"If you are going to follow us, at least keep up. No stupid shit." he said, not bothering to look at them.

"Is that...money?" Nozomi asked curiously, looking at the bag in Melanie's hand.

"Hell yeah, we passed by a bank on the way out of the academy and they left the vault open, we have 300,000 yen with us. We can bribe the piggies with it." She said, a grin on her face.

"Are you fucking retarded? Robbing a bank? What good is money in this new world?" Nick asked.

"Tch, what new world? Everything will go back to the way it was sooner or later, we just wanted to be prepared for that." Tate said, glaring at the baseball player.

"Yes, because out of all the things you could have gotten, you chose money. Hey, at least you can eat money to stay alive...oh wait...no you can't. Dumb shits." Hinata said, muttering the insult under his breath.

They reached a road block, several cars had been parked along side it, being used as a barrier of sorts. Large fences had been set up, and several SAT officers were keeping watch, M16 assault rifles in their hands. Hinata looked around, but he wasn't able to spot his mother at all, all of the officers there were men anyway. There was a large gap in the road, where the people that were allowed to pass were waiting to be let in behind the fence, where several medical tents had been set up.

"Hey Hinata, do you think your mother is here?" Nick asked curiously.

"No, she'd be out in the front helping people. My mother is the kind of person who would try to save everyone she could. This is too orderly, unlike how she normally acts." he said.

"What the hell are we standing around here for? Aren't we gonna cross?" Hide asked.

"We can't just do that Hide, don't you see there are other people with priorities? We have to wait." Nozomi said firmly, her grip on the crowbar tightening a bit.

"Screw that noise, I'm crossing!" Tate said, walking toward the cars that were being used to block passage. He jumped right over them, followed by Serena. Hide went next, turning around to look at Melanie.

"Toss me the money babe!" he said. The girl giggled, and threw him the bag.

"You are such a rebel Hide." she said, gushing over him like a typical girl. The black haired teen laughed audibly, keeping his brisk pace with everyone else.

"Outta the way everyone, let us through!" he cried.

" _Stop what you are doing, stay behind the fence!"_ the loud radio bellowed, the man that had spoken was inside a firetruck, along with several other firemen. Hide climbed over the fence, jumping down, barely avoiding the officers trying to detain him.

"Did you just look up her skirt?" he cried out, looking at the man who tried to grab Melanie.

"Ew gross, what a pig!" she snapped, running after her friend.

"Those fucking idiots, I swear to god." Hinata said, slinging his gun over his shoulder. He jumped over the cars, running after them.

"What the hell are you doing man?" Nick cried out.

"Saving those dumb asses, before they get shot." he called back. As much as he didn't get along with Hide and the girls, he didn't want them to die, that would just be too cruel. He may have wished them dead when he argued with Bryce, but he didn't exactly mean it.

" _This is your last warning. If you do not cross back, we will use force!"_

"Fuck you! Who would want to listen to a nasty pig anyway?" Hide said, pointing his club at them.

"Move bitch!" Tate cried, pushing a woman aside. She cried in pain, her grasp on her infant almost slipping, thankfully, Hinata had gotten there in time to help her out. He glared at Tate, jaw clenched.

"What the fuck dude? Can't you see this woman has a baby? Have some respect!" he said, the brunette whipped his head back, a smirk on his face.

"Fuck her and her baby. She's going to die anyway, no one is safe anymore, not unless we get across this bridge!" he said, laughing audibly. Hinata shook his head, walking after them.

"You guys are idiots, turn back now. The SAT teams tolerate no funny business, they will shoot you." he warned.

"Ha, they wouldn't shoot high school kids." Hide said.

" _Alright, they aren't listening, open the spray!"_ the officer called out.

They took aim at all of them, the fire hose dripping a bit. In a fraction of a second, the hose came to life, a large cold spray of water slamming right into Hide and Serena. The two of them screamed, having been shot right off the side of the bridge into the river. Hinata saw them shifting their aim, right toward them. He took Melanie's hand and pulled her back, just as they fired a second shot, knocking the bag out of her hand, sending the bank notes flying every which way. Tate hadn't been so lucky, having taken the brunt of the impact, receiving the same fate as the others.

"Fucking move!" Hinata cried, pushing Melanie forward, forcing her to run back. The fireman kept firing at them until they reached the fence, which they quickly hopped over.

"Christ, I wasn't expecting them to fire at us." Melanie said, her eyes wide with surprise and shock. Her friends had been shot off the bridge, she wasn't even sure if they were alive or not, the river had risen and the current was strong. With luck they would be able to swim to the shore...if they hadn't been washed away.

"Stop right there, you both are under arrest!" an officer cried, making his way over to the two. Hinata helped Melanie up and pulled her behind himself.

"You are not arresting me, you can kiss my ass." he said, walking backward toward the cars where Nick and Nozomi had been watching patiently.

"I said stop right there, or I will use _force._ " the man said, pulling out his handgun, taking aim at them. Hinata grit his teeth, pulling his shotgun off his shoulder, flicking the safety off.

"You haven't been given the authority to fire on anyone, let alone a high school kid, but that doesn't mean I can't fire at you. You just shot three kids off the bridge, most likely to their death and now your holding us at gunpoint? Isn't your duty to protect and serve the citizenry? Not hurt and injure them?" he asked.

"Put the shotgun down, I am not telling you again." he said, pulling the hammer of his gun back. This guy was totally serious, Hinata could tell. He was the only officer on this side, as the others were handling the lines of people.

It seemed paranoia and power had gotten to his head. He was the law, and he could use whatever force he wanted and not get in trouble, after all Martial Law had been enacted, giving him the right. Sweat trickled down Hinata's cheek, it was unbearably hot, especially with his jacket on.

"M-Maybe you should do what he says." Melanie said quietly, her hold on his backpack being tight.

Hinata narrowed his eyes, steadying his breathing. The officer wasn't having it, and neither was he. On this side of the blockade, Hinata was at risk, but behind it, there were too many people, too many places for cover, too many places to hide. He would have to double back to Onbetsu bridge, but at least he would be away from his red zone. He sucked his teeth, his trigger finger twitching a bit.

"Sorry about this, but I'm not risking the life of my friend, even if she's an absolute cunt, she's still a survivor, and I will protect those that need protecting." he said with a grin. With that he pulled the trigger, aiming right at the man's feet. He cried out in shock, falling down to the ground. Hinata ejected the spent shell casing, firing at the ground a second time, and then a third. He turned around hopping over the barricade, as the officer opened fire on him.

"Someone arrest that boy! Now!" he cried.

"What the fuck Hinata? Are you fucking serious?" Nick cried out, running after his friend. He broke into laughter, his shotgun being slung across his shoulder.

"Hell yeah I'm being serious, this is the best time I've had in all my life. Man what a rush!" he said.

"You get off on the most fucked up things, freaking loser!" Melanie replied.

"You aren't complaining now. He saved your ass so be thankful he took that risk for you!" Nozomi snapped back.

"Forgive me Madam Vice President, but your best friend is a retard!"

"Just like you blondie, only idiots jump over Militarized fences." Hinata said. He jumped onto the hood of a car, running right over it. He jumped onto the next car, the owner of it honking his horn loudly, shouting obscenities at them, but they didn't care. He stood on the roof of it, looking around for a few seconds.

"Damn it, I can't see shit...all of these cars and buses are blocking my view." he said. He hadn't realized he had backtracked half way back to the bridge entrance, so he didn't even realize the bus that was blocking his view was the same one he had passed earlier.

"Hinata over here, there are stairs leading up." Nozomi cried out. The black haired teen jumped off the car, heading toward the stairs. They climbed up, finding it odd that they didn't see anyone on the stairs. They made it onto the top span and looked around, not seeing anyone, living or dead around them.

"There's no one here, just cars." Nick said, glancing around him.

"That's good, the span is empty. This one connects to I3 West and leads into the east side of Tokunosu, sadly it looks blocked so we'll have to go back and take Onbetsu bridge." he said, walking in the opposite direction. He heard a soft muffled pop, which made him stop to look around.

"What was that, a gunshot?" Melanie asked curiously.

"No..that sounded like a gas powered nail gun." Hinata said.

"How would you know what those sound like?" Nick asked.

"Oh, that's because Hinata was taking woodshop this year, he built me the cutest bird house for Christmas, my canary absolutely loves it!" Nozomi said, making the teen blush a bit.

"Whatever, that sounded oddly close." Melanie said, brows knitted.

"Freaks, at least ten of them." Nick said, pointing ahead of them. Hinata grit his teeth, glaring at the shambling Freaks heading toward them.

"Get back, Nick and I will hold them back. Nozomi, keep Melanie safe." he said firmly, earning a nod from the purple haired girl. He took aim at the first Freak, waiting for a few seconds until a couple more got behind it. He pulled the trigger, blowing their heads apart. He ejected the spent casing, shifting the muzzle a bit.

"Several more are coming at us, what do we do?" Nick said.

"Start backing up." he said, earning a nod from the teen. Hinata took a couple steps back, shooting a few more Freaks, trying to clear a path. At this rate, they would have to figure out what to do, or they would end up dying.

"Hinata, there are more behind us." Nozomi cried, making the teen's head whip back. The baton in Nozomi's hand was soaked in blood, dripping onto the pavement. Melanie was hiding behind her, clutching the girl's arm rather tightly.

"Nick, let's regroup, there are less over here." he said, pulling the teen back. He grabbed a few extra shells, sliding them into the tube, ejecting the spent one left in the chamber.

"What do we do?" Melanie cried out, clearly scared.

"Over here, there's another stairwell leading down into the embankment." Hinata said. He opened fire on the nearby Freaks, clearing a bit of the sidewalk for them to get by. They kept running, dodging all of the limbs reaching for them, the sound of snapping jaws filling their ears. Finally reaching the stairwell, Hinata stopped, taking care of the ones closest to it.

"Go, I'll hold them off!" he cried.

"Hinata, be careful." Nozomi said firmly. He gave her a smile, his focus solely on the Freaks in front of him. His gaze hardened, a smile on his face as his adrenaline started pumping.

" _I don't know why, but this shit exited me. Firing at a cop, killing all these undead fucks, blowing up a gas station...this has been the best day of my life. I wonder what other crazy shit I can do now."_

He pulled the trigger, the spread of the first shot destroyed the legs of the first Freak, sending bone fragments and blood high into the air. The second shot ended up making its head explode, punching a hole right through the second Freak. The smell of gunpowder and blood seemed to mix together, creating a brand new scent that seemed to make Hinata grin even wider.

He found himself chuckling, and then outright laughing, as he took down Freak after Freak with every single pull of the trigger. When his gun clicked empty, he simply bashed them with the stock. He didn't stop until every Freak had been taken care of, and by that time he had been caked in so much blood that it dripped right off his body. He turned around, content with his task. He walked down the stairs, his adrenaline finally subsiding. He felt extremely tired now, and absolutely dirty. He reached the bottom of the stairs, looking at Nick and Nozomi who had been waiting for him.

"Um...you okay there buddy?" Nick asked curiously. He gave him a nod.

"I'm great, a little bloody, but great." he said, handing him his shotgun. He sprinted over to the river bank, and knelt down, washing the blood off his face as best he could. He brushed as much as he could off his jacket, but he knew it would be forever stained.

"Uh...Hinata, we heard you laughing...are you alright?" Nozomi asked, concern written on her face.

"Like I said, I'm doing great. I've blown out so much pent up aggression on these Freaks, besides I wanted to make sure they were all dead before I came down here." he said. He was clean of blood, for the most part at least. He took his shotgun back, and started loading more shells into it.

"Hey, there are people over there, do you think we should go talk to them?" Melanie asked, pointing toward the other side of the embankment. They noticed a small group of people sitting by the other stairwell, three thousand or four thousand meters from where they were.

How they hadn't noticed them yet was beyond him. He wiped a bit of the excess water off with the inside of his shirt, looking closer at them. He saw a familiar head of pink hair among them, along with a long blonde haired woman that seemed older than the group she was with. He also saw a girl with reddish brown hair, that looked really familiar to him. He took a few steps forward, narrowing his eyes a bit.

"Wait a minute...is that..." he paused, waiting for a few seconds to see if he could get a closer look.

"Is something wrong? Do you recognize any of them?" Melanie asked.

"I saw the pink haired girl on a bus that was from Fujimi Academy. But the other girl...she looks familiar." he said.

"Hinata, I think...I think that's your cousin." Nozomi said, looking directly into his eyes.

"You think it's Rei? I can't really tell from here." he replied.

"Yes, you know how she styles her hair, with those two little cowlicks in the front. That girl has the same style, and she's holding a broom stick with a sharpened tip, a makeshift spear. That's definitely her!" she exclaimed. Hinata tightened his bag straps, slinging his shotgun across his shoulder.

"Come on, only one way to find out." he said, breaking into a sprint, heading toward the other group of survivors.

"Hey! Don't just run off!" Melanie snapped angrily. Nick sighed shaking his head.

"Let's go Blondie, it's better to just go instead of letting them run off on their own. Safety in numbers." he said, jogging after his friend.

Melanie sighed, and walked after the brown haired teen. She spared a glance to the bridge above them, spotting the fence she had climbed an hour ago. The sun was starting to set now, and she hadn't even realized how late it had gotten. She looked at the river, seeing the swirling waters rushing past her at great speed. She shivered a bit, her teeth clattering.

" _They're...they're dead. Hide, Tate...Serena...all of them are gone...I'm all alone."_ she thought to herself. She wanted to cry, but she knew that wouldn't make things better than they were.

"Rei, is that you?" Hinata called, stopping in front of the other group of people. The brown haired girl looked up, eyes widening a bit.

"Hinata, oh my god, you're alive!" she cried loudly.

The girl they he was talking too was around five foot four inches in height, with long auburn colored hair that reached past the shoulders, down to her mid back. She had a bit of her hair in a small ponytail, leaving the rest to hang freely, two cowlicks stuck out from the top of her head, falling a few inches over her eyes. She had light colored skin, and bright reddish brown eyes a small nose and soft pink lips.

She was wearing a white long sleeved shirt, which was stained with blood. She also had a green pleated skirt on, which was torn and frayed along the hem. She wore long black stockings which had a couple holes in them, along with white bloodstained tennis shoes. She stabbed her makeshift spear into the soft ground and launched herself into his arms, the teen catching her in a hug.

"I thought you were dead, I tried calling you so many times but you didn't pick up!" she said, almost breaking into tears.

"Sorry about that, my phone died halfway through the night." he admitted. He pulled away from her, looking her over for injuries.

"I tried calling dad back when everything went to shit but he didn't recognize me." she said sadly.

"I talked to mom yesterday, me and my friends ended up stealing a cop car and used the radio to talk to her." he said.

"You did what?" she snapped, her eyes falling on Nozomi who gave her a sheepish grin.

"Hi Rei, don't worry, the car had been abandoned. Besides, we had to steal a firetruck to get out of Tokunosu West Academy." she said. The girl sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh my god, please tell me that's a real shotgun." came the voice of a portly shaped boy.

He was a bit shorter than Hinata, with straight black hair falling down to his shoulders. He had a pair of thick black glasses on his eyes, his dark eyes filled with sheer excitement. He was wearing a black blazer, with a high collar and a white tee shirt underneath it. He was wearing a matching pair of slacks and formal black shoes. Hinata gave him a nod, pulling the gun off his shoulder.

"It's a 12 gauge Benelli Nova Tactical shotgun. I got it from a gas station near the bridge, one that I happened to blow up in order to get the Freaks away from us." he said.

"May I hold it? I happen to have great knowledge on firearms, and this one happens to be one of the best shotguns out there at the moment." he said. Hinata looked at the gun in his hand, pursing his lips.

"Hmm, normally I wouldn't, but since you are a friend of my cousin...I'll allow it." he said, handing him the gun. His face lit up like a Christmas tree as he was given the gun. He checked it over, nodding himself.

"Whoever owned it before did a great job at keeping it in good shape, but there's some blood in the barrel, that will mess up the inner workings if it gets down to the firing pin." he said.

"Good to know, I guess." Hinata replied.

"Excuse me, yeah hi...I know this is all a happy lovey dovey family reunion, but we haven't the time to stick around here, waiting for _them_ to show up. We have to cross the river." the pink haired girl said. Hinata had been right in his assumption, noticing it was the same one that he had seen on the bus.

"She's right, it's already nightfall and we totally failed our mission, not to mention your dumb asses fucked up royally." Nick said, glancing at Melanie and Hinata.

"Hey, that cop was going to shoot me, what was I supposed to do? Let him kill me? Besides I didn't hit him did I?" he snapped back.

"You shot a cop?" Rei snapped, making her cousin blush a bit.

"I didn't mean too, blame blondie for hopping the fence. If it wasn't for me, her ass would have taken a swim in the river. The others in her group are most likely dead at this point. Regardless, we have to find a place to stay for the night." he said, looking at the stairs. His eyes fell on the blonde woman from before, his eyes narrowing a bit.

She was a little taller than the other girls, being around five foot ten in height. She was wearing a long sleeved white shirt, which did little to hide her buxom chest. She had ivory colored skin, with a slight tan. She also had bright eyes, and a beautiful face, which was filled with youth and innocence he hadn't seen in awhile. She wore a long brown skirt, which was ripped on the side, almost to the waist, showing off a bit of her frilly purple panties. She was wearing brown heeled shoes, and had a medical bag in her hand. Her long blonde hair fell down to her waist, and was tied with a red ribbon near the bottom. She looked at him for a second, brows furrowing.

"Is something wrong dear?" she asked, her tone of voice sounded a bit ditzy and childish, but it was also kindhearted.

"No it's just...you look really familiar for some reason, but I know I never met you before. Hmm..."

"Whatever, Miss Shizuka you said your friend lived around here right?" the other young man in the group asked.

He was around the same height as Hinata, with spiky black hair pointing in all directions. He was wearing the same uniform as the other boy, though his was covered in blood in a few places, the top of it had been torn, and he had the collar folded down. He had a crimson tee shirt underneath it, and was wearing a pair of worn jeans, with white tennis shoes, the laces being tucked into the shoe.

He had some keys in his hand, jingling them every other second. Hinata recognized him as Rei's boyfriend Takashi. They had hung out several times before, but it had been awhile since they had spoken to each other. Last time he had spoken to Rei, she had discussed a potential break up with him because apparently he didn't talk enough. He didn't know why she had said that, they had talked a lot whenever it was that they hung out. The blonde woman, who he know knew as Shizuka nodded.

"It's my friends flat. She left me a spare key so I can look after the place whenever she's out of town on call. She won't mind if we use it." she said firmly.

"Is it a high rise? Can we see our surroundings?" the portly boy said, his initial inspection of the shotgun done.

"Yes, it's a place along the river, and there's a convenience store right next door too!" she exclaimed. The more the woman spoke, the more Hinata started thinking. His brows furrowed as he rested his finger on his chin, lost in thought.

"Hinata, is something wrong?" Nozomi asked, concern filling her voice.

"No, nothings wrong. Miss, what's your friends name? If you don't mind my asking." He said, looking at the blonde woman.

"Oh, her name is Rika, she's in the Special Assault Team." She said.

"I knew it, that's why you were so familiar. I've met Rika tons of times before whenever she was at the station, there's a picture of you two at her desk. If her apartment is nearby then it will serve us of great use, especially with her cache of weapons." he said.

"Weapons? Plural?" the black haired teen asked, earning a nod from Hinata.

"Not exactly sure what kind, but she told me she has a Crossbow, a Barnett Wildcat C5, one of the most powerful crossbows to come out of Britain in the last twenty years." he said.

"Oh I gotta see that." he said, a grin working its way onto his face.

"Jeez, you really are a military otaku aren't you?" the pink haired girl snapped, crossing her arms distastefully.

"Well, if we are going to act, we better do it now. Takashi, why don't you head to the apartment with Shizuka? We'll follow after you." the silent purple haired girl said, softly but firmly.

She had long waist length violet hair, and a firm look on her face, her blue eyes filled with warmth and comfort. She was wearing a long sleeved white shirt, with a green ascot, and a long ankle length pleated skirt, which was also green in color.

She was wearing a pair of black shoes, with thick black laces. In her hands was a black wooden sword, a few dents and knicks on the edges of it, but otherwise not worse for wear. Takashi gave her a nod.

"Alright Saeko, that's a good idea. I'm sure you can hold the fort down while I'm gone. Hinata, give her a hand would ya? I know how dependable you can be." the teen said, finally acknowledging him. Hinata nodded, giving him a thumbs up.

"Worry not bro, I'll keep them safe." he said. He and Shizuka left shortly afterwards, the sounds of an engine filling their ears. Hinata turned to the others.

"Alright then, I suppose introductions are in order. My name is Hinata Miyamoto and I'm Rei's cousin. This is my childhood friend Nozomi Fujika, our friend Nick McFay, and our acquaintance Melanie. I hope we can all get along." he said.

"I love how you just invite yourself into our group. We don't even know you." the pink haired girl snapped. He chuckled, glaring right back at her.

"And I love how you assume I wouldn't. Rei is the only family I have on this side of the city and now that I found her, I am not letting her out of my sight. Besides, I'm not half assed, I have guns, and medical supplies." he said. He shrugged off his pack, pulling out a couple bottles of water, handing them to Rei. He pulled two more, handing one to Saeko and the other boy.

"Thanks Hinata, my name is Kohta Hirano. Hope we get along." he said, uncapping the bottle he had given him, draining it of its contents almost immediately.

"Saeko Busujima, a pleasure to meet a family member of Rei Miyamoto. You will be a welcome addition to our group." the girl said firmly, having already drank most of her water. Hinata pulled out the last bottle he had, handing it to the pink haired girl.

"That's all my water by the way. I can always get more, but if we're heading to Rika's house, she's bound to have more in the fridge and I can snag those." he said with a shrug. The girl's hardened glare seemed to soften a bit once she accepted the peace offering.

"Saya Takagi, nice to meet you I guess." she said. Hinata found it a bit odd she didn't acknowledge him, even though they were familiar with each other. He didn't say anything, deciding to go along with it.

"Nice to meet you too. Hey Kohta, since you seem to like that gun so much, I'll let you borrow it for a bit. I got another one on me anyway." he said, pulling his .38 special from his bag, placing it in his holster. He grabbed several shells, handing them to the boy.

"Wow, thanks a bunch man. It's been awhile since I shot off one of these. You found it in a gas station right?" he asked.

"Yeah, the ammunition came from the back of that police cruiser we borrowed. I got fifty more rounds and have only used around fifteen of them. I also have a few 9mm rounds for my handgun." he said, opening the cylinder. He replaced the spent casing, closing it right after.

"Hey, wait a minute...how come everyone has a weapon and I don't?" Melanie cried out, her face filled with annoyance. Hinata reached for the Monkey wrench attached to his belt, handing it to the blonde haired girl.

"Sorry, in my hurry to get out of there, I forgot to hand it to you. Well, Takashi must have made it to Rika's by now. We should start making our way there, meet them halfway." he said.

"Good plan, I'll handle the front, can you cover the rear?" Saeko asked, earning a nod from him.

After a few minutes, Hinata and his new friends were slowly making their way up the street, walking along side the river. The sun had already set, the last rays of it still illuminating the skies.

"Man, I can't wait to get to this place so I can scratch my fucking balls." Nick suddenly said, making Hinata burst into laughter. Kohta was trying to hold back his chuckles, a firm glare from Saya made them all stop.

"Must you share with us what you want to do whenever it is we're safe?" she snapped angrily.

"Yes, it's in my character after all. Though this time around I'm a little more serious, then again Cody isn't around with his cache of weapons." he said firmly, looking at the sky. They all looked at him like he has lost his marbles, eyes back to the front. Takashi had doubled back, meeting them halfway, Shizuka had her arms tightly wrapped around his waist.

"It's not much further. It's the second street, the big house with the satellite on it." he said, earning a nod from everyone.

It had been a hard day, not just for Hinata, but everyone. The first day with the Freaks had been a tough one, and they had almost lost their lives on many occasions. Thankfully, nothing tragic happened to any of them and through a good stroke of luck, he had been able to find his cousin and her friends. Now that they were in a sound group, they had higher chances of survival.

However, that didn't mean it wouldn't be hard for them to survive, after all they needed to cross the bridge. Hinata didn't know it, but he was starting to witness the fall of society, and it wouldn't be long, until the streets were paved with blood, of the living, and the undead.


	4. Running with the Dead

**A/N: Hello, and welcome one and all to Chapter 4 of Those Who Walk Among the Dead, in the last chapter Rick and his Group were captured by Negan where...oh...I'm sorry, wrong series...lol...anyway, Hinata and his friends are starting to see the beginning of the collapse of social order, now having met up with his cousin, he will merge with Takashi's group and formulate a strategy to survive against them, and get across the river to the Eastern side of the city, where he hopes to reunite with his mother Aiko, and his aunt and uncle, Kiriko and Tadashi, but of course it's never really that easy. This chapter will lead into the beginning of the next mini arc, which will be an homage to one of my personal favorite levels in Left 4 Dead, No Mercy, of course I will be adding my own twists to it to make it as unique as possible, but it will start building the relationship between Hinata and Saya. This chapter will also serve to explain the scar on Hinata's face, and some of his past, so I hope you all enjoy it, I worked hard on it.**

 **So, after last weeks episode of the Walking Dead, I was going to just post these after the end of the episode, but I couldn't wait, that and I still have no internet, I'm down to my last mega byte on my phone and have to talk to my bank so I can figure out why my account was suspended, even though my card wasn't stolen, but I digress, you little Dragons don't need to know my personal problems, or how much I detest the currupt banking system...or the Iluminati...**

 **Here's chapter four...**

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 4

Running with the Dead

Steam filtered through the open window, as the hot water within the bathroom was drawn into the tub. From within the room, the sounds of laughter could be heard. All of the girls had decided to save time by taking a group bath, while the four guys ended up waiting for the showers to clear out. Hinata had already shed his bloodied jacket, not wanting to wear it any longer, the white shirt he wore underneath was covered in blood, so he had taken that off too, choosing to stay shirtless while he waited.

Rika's house was way bigger than any of them had anticipated. When they walked through the doors, the only thing they could do was stare. It was a beautiful pad, with hard wood floors that had been polished to a shine. The living room had large black leather couches, along with a large flat screen television, which sat above a mantle, and beautiful fireplace sitting beneath it. On either side of the couch sat two decorative plants, their large green leaves falling over the couch's arm rest. To their right was the kitchen area.

There was a stainless steel refrigerator, which Hinata bet was filled with tons of food. Next to it was the kitchen counter, the sink being right next to it, with the microwave oven being placed right above the sink. The stove sat next to a window on the far side of the kitchen, it was a white gas stove with iron burners, the digital clock on it reading 8:05PM. There was a wooden block with black handles sticking out of it, next to a toaster oven and a coffee maker. In the center of the kitchen was an island, with a granite counter top, and a pot rack right above it.

The cookware set hanging from it looked expensive, like the models used by professional chefs. In the very back of the house, was the bathroom, which was the largest one he had ever seen, with white tile floors and walls, and a hot tub styled bath tub with water jets on it. It also had traditional Japanese showers, and a shower stall with glass doors. He spotted several hair care products and other frufru things girl's normally bought for themselves. There was a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor, there the only bedroom was located.

The bedroom was big, and had an outdoor balcony which looked over the entire complex and the neighborhood as well. It had a vantage point of several miles, enough to see everything around them for quite a distance, including Tokunosu Bridge, one of the biggest light sources still left in the city, as the lower West side was almost in the dark. Not from power outages but from lack of people. The bedroom also had polished hard wood floors. In the center of the room was a king size bed, with bright crimson bed sheet neatly placed on it.

There were a couple white pillows sitting against the black backboard, a black night table was placed beside it with a large lamp on it. In the front of the room was a large dresser, with six large drawers on it, a thirty five inch screen sitting atop it, next to the dresser was the door to the closet, which was filled with lots of designer clothes. While everything in the house was interesting, Hinata was more interested in the two lockers that had been placed next to the dresser.

They were average sized, maybe around the size of a school locker, colored a sleek metallic black. It was bolted to the back wall, so even if you kicked it, it wouldn't move an inch. Takashi and Kohta had been debating on how to open it for awhile, but it was when Hinata went for it that they all decided to open it. The first locker had been filled to the brim with extra magazines and boxes of ammunition. The right side of it was stacked with .762mm x 20 rifle ammunition. He had counted at least sixty magazines, all made to hold twenty rounds.

He did the math in his head, and if there were sixty magazines, that meant half of them belonged to another rifle, meaning there were at least two rifles in there. The shotgun shells were obviously for a shotgun, and even if the locker didn't have one, he had his Benelli Nova which could chamber 12 gauge ammunition. The final thing he saw in there was a quiver filled with thin titanium arrows, at least 200 or so, and since they were thin, they had been literally stuffed in there.

"I'm gonna seriously get a headache if this thing turns out to be empty." Kohta muttered, looking at the bullets he had pulled from one of the cases.

"Tell me about it, though the way it's going, there are bound to be guns. If there's ammo, there's guns." Hinata said. Takashi reached into the locker, pulling out a black case from inside. When he opened it, he saw what looked like a knife inside.

"Check out this fancy knife, you can definitely stab _them_ with this." he said.

"That's not a knife Komuro. Its a military issue bayonet, an eight inch double edged blade sharpened to a tip with a durable polymer handle and metal guard. This is definitely made to be mounted on a gun, by the looks of it, a rifle." Kohta said. Hinata grabbed the crowbar from the ground, wedging it into the second locker until it was firmly in place.

"Well, instead of just waiting around..we should just get it over with." he said, taking a firm hold of it. Takashi and Kohta took a firm hold of it from the opposite end. While they pushed, Hinata would pull, making it that much easier to open the locker.

" _Oh God! It's so cold!"_

" _Man, these are huge, no way these are real!"_

"They're having a ball." Hinata said, looking toward the stairwell leading down stairs.

"Do you wanna take a peek? We're supposed to you know." Kohta said firmly.

"Thanks, but I don't wanna die yet." Takashi added.

"Besides, I've seen Nozomi naked before. Our parents let us take baths together when we were younger, and we still do it sometimes, though it started getting awkward at around the age of thirteen." Hinata said, his face flushing. Kohta chuckled, shaking his head.

"Alright, at the count of three. One...two...three."

The three put all of their weight into the crowbar, Hinata pulling as hard as he could while Takashi and Kohta pushed with all their strength. A loud snap filled the room, and the three men went flying back, the door had literally come out of its hinges. Hinata was the first to sit up, rubbing his head.

"Okay, that sucked." he muttered.

"Where the hell is Nick? He could have helped us out here." Takashi muttered dryly, still facing the floor.

"He said something about taking a nap downstairs, something tells me the bastard is trying to sneak a peek at the girls. Well, Saeko will beat the hell out of him with that sword of hers, so that would be a welcome sight in my book." Hinata said, making the spiky haired teen chuckle.

"I just knew it! If there was ammo, there had to be guns, and we were right." Kohta said, grabbing a from within the locker. It was a sleek black rifle, which was 1118mm long. Hinata could tell that it was an M14, though it had been heavily modified for consumer use, and knowing that Rika was an S.A.T. meant she could get enough money and spare parts to build her own weapon. It had a small red dot sight attached to it, he could see that it was an EoTech model, but it was a cylindrical red dot version instead of the holographic models.

"A Springfield M1A1 Super Mach. This is a heavily modified M14 series, and its had the automatic function fully removed. Then again full auto only serves to waste ammunition." he said, looking the rifle over, setting it down next to him. Hinata looked at the barrel, seeing the mount on it matched the small clips on the bayonet.

"Hey Kohta, looks like the bayonet Takashi found goes with this gun. I see some strap locks too, meaning there should be a strap for it somewhere." he said.

"I noticed that too, maybe there's some stuff under the bed, mind looking for me Hinata?" he asked, earning a nod from him.

"Sure thing, pass me a shirt from that dresser, my nipples are starting to pucker from the cold." he said.

"Aw man, I really didn't need that image in my head." Takashi said, looking at the far wall. Kohta chuckled, grabbing the first shirt he saw from the top drawer. Hinata didn't even look at it, he just slipped it on over his body. It was long enough to cover his entire body, but the sleeves were abnormally short and tight on him. He noticed with was bright pink in color. When he looked at the front, he saw a purple cat, with sequins on it. The words boo boo kitty were written on the sides. Takashi and Kohta were trying not to loose their shit from seeing their friend in a clearly feminine shirt.

"Come on man, laugh it up. Just hurry and fangirl over your new toys, before I get pissed." he said, looking under the bed. Kohta turned back to the locker, pulling out the second rifle contained with in.

"Oh man, this is a Knight's SR type Armalite AR-10. It's 1118mm long, just as long as the Springfield, but this one has been modified even more. It looks like she took a standard issue AR-10 Law and smithed it into something entirely new. This is an entirely new stock, with a spring assist inside it to minimize recoil. The trigger guard and trigger mechanism is also different, it's more ergonomic, easier to use. It also has an adjustable bi-pod, meaning this rifle's purpose lies in its range. This scope is also an illegal addition to this weapon. You can see up to three thousand meters with this, and it's zeroed in quite nicely. I think this is going to be my new personal favorite." Kohta said, a grin on his face.

"Okay, I know you said this Rika girl is a cop and everything, but who the hell is she? Sarah Fuckin' Palin?" Takashi asked, glancing between the two rifles and what was left in the locker.

"Something like that, my mom told me stories of how Rika used to smuggle extra parts and illegal armament into Japan to make her own weapons. Technically, mom was supposed to arrest her for it, but she always said she didn't have proof of the gun's existence, and they couldn't get into her house without a warrant anyway." Hinata replied, he was half under the bed, having pulled a flat black case from underneath it.

"Still though, it's interesting to see just what kind of stuff this woman is into. Shizuka said she was in the military for awhile too, before quitting them and joining the Self Defense Force." Kohta said. Takashi had finally gotten back to his feet, and had pulled out another weapon from within the locker. Hinata had finally pulled out all of the cases from underneath the bed, wiping sweat from his brow. He looked up, seeing the shotgun in Takashi's hands.

"Well I'll be damned. That's an Ithaca M-37 Riot shotgun. It's a sweet gun made by Americans." He said.

"He's right, it played a major role in the Vietnam war. It chambers 12 gauge ammunition, so you can use the shells in the locker and which ever 12 gauge shells you happen to find." Kohta said, earning a nod from Takashi. He pulled the pump back, the sound filling their ears.

"Cool, and it has a scope too." he said, looking through it, seeing the dot in the center. Kohta screamed out, ducking for cover.

"Are you insane, never point that thing at anyone, even unloaded, but when you do...shoot to kill!" he said, a firm look on his face.

"Heh, alright." Takashi said halfheartedly. Kohta chuckled, grabbing the magazines from the right locker, along with some ammo boxes.

"Hey, if I were to turn into one of _them,_ don't hesitate to blow my head off." Kohta said, a degree of seriousness in his voice. His expression was firm, eyes locked on Takashi and the shotgun.

"Right back at ya." the spiky haired teen replied.

"Jesus guys, I know its a hard world out there, but don't think like that yet. We need to get laid first!" Hinata said, grabbing the bigger of the two cases, flicking it open.

"Speaking of that, we haven't known each other long enough Hinata, but do you and Nozomi have a thing?" Kohta asked.

"Not really, she's my childhood friend, we know each other practically from birth. My mother, Rei's aunt, works as an Emergency Operator and Dispatch officer, and she met Lila, Nozomi's mom, when she and my father moved into their neighborhood. As it turns out, my mom and her mom were pregnant at the same time, but I was almost fill term while Nozomi still had a couple of weeks. She was actually born premature, almost died a couple of times too." he said, a frown on his face.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's great that she made it out fine, premature babies are the lucky babies you know." Takashi said, making him chuckle.

"That's what Lila said. We didn't play much together, even growing up. It wasn't until we met in first grade that we became best friends. No one...no one wanted to be my friend, after what happened to my father. They all just looked at me like I was a monster, all because of the scar on my face." he said, finger tracing the scar that stretched from his brow, across his face to his lower cheek.

"Would you mind sharing it with us? It's alright if you don't want too, we all have skeletons in the closet after all." Kohta said, he had already loaded magazines, Takashi was watching him carefully, playing with a stray bullet.

"I don't mind sharing, I would have told you everything at some point. Takashi and Rei know it, after all we played a lot as kids and we went to the same elementary school, this was before I met Takashi though, and Rei was in her annoying phase, so she didn't talk to her cousin. The school wasn't that far from where I lived, so I usually walked home by myself, with a big group of kids. One day, I stayed late helping my teacher clean up the room after a birthday party we all had, I was a bit of a teachers pet, I'll admit. Anyway, it was almost sundown when we finally finished so I grabbed my stuff and started heading home.

On my way there though, these guys tried to kidnap me. I was struggling to get free, ended up biting the guy so hard I drew blood. He dropped me and I ran off, but one of them was able to catch me, twisting my arm out of place. He screamed in pain, and he slashed my face with his knife, in retaliation for biting his friend. My dad came out of nowhere, tackling the man to the ground. He told me to run, but I couldn't just leave him, so I stayed and watched. The other man put a sack over my head and he...he tried too...my father got him off me, but in the scuffle, he didn't notice one of the men had a gun, and he was fatally wounded. They took off right after and never turned back. I...watched as my father slowly bled to death, the hole in his chest being too close to his heart, he bled out within the minute, and by the time rescue showed up, he had already died." He said firmly.

"Jesus Christ...I'm sorry that happened man." Kohta said softly. Hinata smiled, giving him a nod.

"I've made peace with it, so I'm not often bothered by it. My mother ended up joining the police force right after his death, she wanted to stop people and their wrong doings, so she took the training, and the required law classes, finally earning her degree in Law Enforcement, and she started working at the East Police Station with my aunt and uncle. Even though she's working in the office most of the time, she's a qualified SWAT officer, so she can kick ass just as well as she can push a button. No one takes shit from my mom, not even my uncle, who admitted being scared of my mom when she was angry." he said, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"He isn't lying, Tadashi pissed her off at this family gathering once, and she ended up throwing a Cornish game hen at him. They ended up wrestling on the floor and she came out the winner, having pinned him onto the floor. Rei hates talking about that story, purely because she saw her old man get his ass handed to him by his little sister, and mostly because Hinata there was able to put her in an arm lock after she said his mother couldn't beat anyone in a fair fight." he said.

"She hasn't forgiven me for that either, man those were the days. So, are you two still a thing? What happened to that other kid you used to hang out with? Hisashi, I think his name was?" Hinata asked. Takashi's face hardened a bit, and Kohta shook his head.

"Hinata, I wouldn't ask him that." he said.

"Oh...my bad bro, I didn't mean to..."

"No its fine. Rei and I broke up a couple months ago, and she started dating Hisashi, the day shit hit the fan, he got bit and I took care of him." he replied. Hinata swallowed hard, looking at the far wall.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Um, lets change the subject, I really wanna see whats in this case, but there's a key slot to it, so simply flicking the locks won't do." he said, reaching for his crowbar.

"Hey Takashi, help me with these magazines. Loading them is a pain in the ass." Kohta said, handing him a stack of empty magazines. Takashi nodded, grabbing a case of bullets, tearing it open. He looked at the black magazine, glancing at Kohta for a second, then mimicking his actions.

"So, you seem to be an expert in all this, you train with BB guns?" he asked, leaning against the bed.

"No...I trained with the real deal." he said with a grin.

"W-what?" Takashi asked, unable to believe what his friend was saying.

"Back when I was visiting the States, I took formal training classes during the summer. The guy who taught me worked for a private military company." He said.

"Blackwater USA, the best Military training facility in all of America, or so I've been told." Hinata said, carefully snapping the lock on the black case.

"That's right...while in America, my instructor taught me with different guns, shotguns, rifles, variants, handguns, everything under the book. It only made my love for firearms grow even bigger." he replied, a smirk on his face.

"Oh my god, one of the biggest geeks in school is a card carrying member of the N.R.A...I'm so glad you are on our side." Takashi said, shivering a bit at the thought of having to face Kohta with the firearms they had found.

"I can sort of see it, the person one least expects in class is usually the one that knows how to use a gun...don't misinterpret that, I didn't mean anything by it." Hinata said, shaking his arms rapidly, earning a chuckle from Kohta.

"Don't worry about it bro! I'm not gonna go into school guns blazing or anything, unless its filled with _them._ " he replied. Hinata checked the case over a few more seconds, before nodding to himself.

"Alright boys, fingers crossed." he said, flipping the top open.

Inside the case sat a rifle, one that Hinata recognized as an AR-15. It was slightly shorter than the other two rifles, but it made up for it with a threaded barrel. The muzzle of it was black in color, with tan markings on it, mimicking a camouflage finish, which shined in the light. It had a pistol grip bottom receiver, with a tan colored trigger and a rounded off trigger guard, which had the safety switch installed into it.

He didn't see a switch on the side either, so that meant it was a semi-automatic rifle, which was good for him as they were a waste of ammunition. It had a triangle shaped buttstock, which had a gap in the center, and had a small switch on the side. Instead of iron sights, it had a rail on the top of it, with small clips on it. While the pistol grip and trigger guard were tan, the stock was a silver color, and the rail was a sleek black color. Beside it, was a long cylindrical tube, about the size of a standard issue flashlight. He pulled the rifle out of the case, testing it's weight.

"Holy shit, that's an AR-15 Variant. Look at it, threaded barrel, a pistol grip lower receiver, and a Magpul adjustable stock. And from the looks of it, it's also had its automatic fire function taken off. The rail at the top of it has fasteners on, there has to be a scope for it somewhere." Kohta said, looking rather excited. Hinata allowed him to see the rifle, while he opened the smaller case. Inside he found sleek black scope, which was around the same length as the cylindrical object he had found inside the rifle's case. It was smaller at one end, and larger at the other, and had two black caps that flipped upward. It had two knobs on the sides, with the insignia of the company that had made it, there was also a knob at the very top, which was larger than the other two. It had a mount piece attached to it, with silver screws attached to it. Inside was also a small screw driver, and a lens cleaning cloth.

"Yo, Kohta...I found the scope." he said, holding it out to the young gunslinger.

"Oh my god, this is a Vortex Viper 6.5 20x50 PA rifle scope. This thing is the best short to long range scope money can buy. It's a Mil-Dot sight, which makes it easier to estimate range and windage. Best of all, you can see in any level of light, in the early dawn, in the dead of night, you'll be able to see your target. Another awesome feature about this scope, if you zero it for long distance shooting, you'll be able to fire it up close and long distance without having to change the sight at all." he said, totally gushing over the scope.

"Well...Rika really knows how to buy these guns. The way you make it sound, it seems like this a very expensive set up." Hinata said.

"In the United States, a variant AR-15 of this caliber, along with all of the adjustments and spare parts would run you around 7,000 to 9,000 dollars, if you buy magazines for it, even more. Since these are technically illegal in Japan, she could get in a lot of trouble, of course, that's if she has them set up this way, if their in parts, they can't do shit about it." he said with a shrug. He took the screw driver from the case and started mounting the scope on it, while Takashi finished off loading the magazines.

"Well, whatever the case, I am very glad we stopped at this place. We have enough ammunition to last us awhile, and we can always find more." Takashi said.

"The only gun store I know of is the one across the bridge, near the Tokunosu Castle. If we are lucky, then it hasn't gotten raided so bad, I know people normally head to the nearest gun store in situations like this, but in this case, I think all of the Freaks slowed them down, at least enough to prevent heavy looting." Hisashi said, opening the third and final case, which was medium in size compared to the others.

"That's a grim thought." Takashi replied, not wanting to think about it. Hisashi opened the case, seeing all of the other accessories that belonged to the rifle. There were thirty magazines inside, all of them already loaded to the brim with ammunition. They were a bit longer than the other magazines, so he figured they held more bullets. He saw a long black strap, along with the clips that would attach to the gun muzzle and stock.

"This thing is a beauty, and it comes with a suppressor too. It's a nice gun, but I think I like the AR-10 a little better." Kohta said, finishing with the scope. He took the suppressor from the case and screwed it into the barrel. Loud cries filled the room again, making the two of them sigh.

"Man, they really do know how to make noise." Hinata said, glaring at the door leading downstairs.

"Don't worry, I doubt _they_ can hear the girls. Their focused on something else." Takashi said, holding a pair of high tech binoculars to his eyes. Kohta stood up, grabbing his chosen rifle, handing Hinata the AR-15. They both walked toward the balcony looking toward the bridge. Hinata held the gun to his shoulder, looking through the scope. His eyes widened a bit, shocked to see just how clear everything was. He could see all of the people on the bridge, walking around, being held up by police officers, he also saw a few people holding up signs, but he couldn't see what they said.

"Hinata, turn on the television would you?" Takashi asked, earning a nod from the black haired teen, he walked back into the room, pressing the power button on the remote. It roared to life, staying blank for a few seconds until the image come on. Hinata grabbed all of the magazines from inside the the case and set them on the bed, slipping one into the receiver until it clicked. He attached the clips onto the muzzle and barrel, slipping the nylon strap through it. Once done, he slung it across his shoulder, grabbing his shotgun off the ground and setting it on the bed.

" _It seems the protests against the Prefectural Police are growing in number. The protests began late this morning, where a group of civilians started demanding they be let through Tokunosu Bridge by the Police. It seems the large case of Murder Syndrome victims has been attributed to a Biological Weapon, which is believed to have been massed produced by a foreign country...scientists say that..."_

"What a load of bullshit, Murder Syndrome?" Hinata snapped angrily.

"Probably something the government came up with, to stop people from panicking." Takashi replied, eyes firmly on his binoculars.

" _It seems that these protesters believe that there is a hidden conspiracy and that the Prefectural Police are deliberately preventing the movement of traffic into Eastern Tokunosu due to orders from a higher operative.."_

"Jesus, these people really are retarded." Hinata muttered dryly. He walked into Rika's closet, looking around for a spare change of clothes, he wasn't going to be wearing a fresh pair of underwear, and his clothes had been smeared with blood, and would take too many washes to clean them fully, something that took time, time that he wasn't willing to waste.

He found a pair of jeans that seemed to be around his size, and though they were for women, he didn't seem to care at the moment. He grabbed a different tee shirt, which was light green in color, and had Hello Kitty printed on it, the words Love and Peace being written above and below the anthropomorphic cat. He walked back into the other room, grabbing a spare pair of socks, which were pink in color and slightly fuzzy.

"Jeez, I know Rika is a woman, but does she really need to have so much pink shit?" he said to himself, since his friends were too busy looking out to the bridge, discussing what to do, he could only hope the girls would hurry up so he could take a shower, if there was any hot water left.

"So like, whats up between you and that loser Hinata? You fucking him or what?" Melanie asked, looking at Nozomi who was sitting beside her in front of the showers. The purple haired girl had been a bit reluctant to get into the shower with the rest of the girls, since she didn't know anyone other than Rei, but she had been forced in there by Melanie, the only other person she knew. Honestly, she would have been more comfortable taking a bath with Hinata, but that wasn't an option at the moment. She scrubbed her scalp, not really thinking about the question, the suds of her shampoo slowly dripping down her soaking wet body.

"Melanie, please stop calling Hinata a loser, he isn't one alright? He saved your ass on the bridge, if it wasn't for him you would have drowned with Hide and everyone else, and just for the record I am not fucking him, he's my best friend, nothing more nothing less." she said, sounding rather angrier than she intended. Melanie huffed a bit, glancing at her reflection in the mirror, ignoring the water fight the others were having in the tub, though she saw Saya looking in her direction and couldn't assume she was listening to everything they were discussing, not that they cared.

"Well, I only ask because Bryce isn't with you, and I know he wouldn't leave you alone with Hinata, even if he is your best friend, those two hate each other. Does that mean he's dead?" she asked.

"No, Bryce isn't dead. When we left Tokunosu West Academy, we all left together, me, Nick, Hinata and Bryce, but I quickly realized that he was a hindrance to our survival, he wouldn't stop instigating fights with Hinata, insulting him, insulting me. It wouldn't have been long before the asshole hit me like he always did when we were alone. He knew Hinata would fuck him up if he did, so he didn't do anything. I finally got sick of it, and when Hinata threatened to kill him, he jumped out of the truck. I haven't seen him since, and let me tell you, it feels fucking great, it's like taking a piss after an assembly, great and oddly satisfying." she said.

"Ew." Rei muttered, making the other girls laugh. Nozomi shrugged and grabbed the hose, using it to wash the shampoo out of her hair.

"So you just abandoned him? And when did Hinata start threatening people? He's always been the one to take the abuse not dish it out." the blonde said, oddly surprised to hear that the person her friend had bullied had grown a spine.

"To answer the first question, yes I abandoned him, and I hope he's dead, and two, Hinata wasn't threatening him. I could hear it in his voice, see it on his face. In his eyes, he had that look, that killer instinct was in his eyes. He was going to kill Bryce if he didn't leave, and frankly I wouldn't have stopped him, he deserves it for being a fucking asshole." she said, washing off the last of the soap. She stood up, flicking her wet hair behind her shoulders.

"Goddamn you're huge...those are bigger than mine." Rei said, glancing at the other girl's bosom. Nozomi grinned sheepishly, a vibrant blush on her face.

"Sorry Rei, I'm a grower not a shower." she said with a wink. She didn't notice Melanie creep behind her, a grin on her face as she reached around the shorter girl's body, taking a firm hold of her breasts.

"Kyaaa! Melanie stop it!" she cried, the blush on her face growing in ferocity.

"Jeez, look at these. They must be a double d cup, and their really squishy too." the blonde said, squeezing the girl's a little harder.

"S-stop it...I d-don't like getting fondled, I-It makes me..." she stopped talking, as she felt her nether region start getting moist. She was panting a bit, some of the clear fluid dripping from her.

"Oh my god...are you dripping?" Saya asked, eyes widened in shock. Nozomi wrestled herself out of Melanie's grasp.

"I tried telling you...I get really aroused when someone fondles my breasts, I can't help it." she said, looking down in shame.

"Aw sweetheart, there's nothing to be ashamed about that. That just means you'll make your man really happy in the future." Shizuka said.

"Yeah I hope, I dated Bryce for two years, but I couldn't bring myself to have sex with him. He wanted me to just let him take me, and he tried making me have sex with him by force on so many occasions. Luckily, Hinata lived next door, so whenever I banged on the wall three times, he would always come knocking and wouldn't leave until Bryce was gone." she said.

"You really care for him don't you?" Rei asked curiously.

"Of course, I love Hinata with all my heart. He's my best friend, the only one who was willing to be friends with me, even after he lost his father." She said.

"What happened to him?" Shizuka asked, looking between the two girls.

"Perhaps you shouldn't, it sounds like a touchy subject." Saeko said, having spoken after remaining silent for so long.

"No it's alright. My Uncle Taeyang, he lost his life when he stopped my cousin from being kidnapped. He stayed late helping our First grade teacher after a party. My mom asked me to go get him, since my aunt wouldn't be getting out of school until late at night, but my uncle was home at the time and he said he would get him so I wouldn't have to walk the twenty minutes to the school. When he found Hinata, he was being shoved into a van. He managed to break free from the two men, but one of them ended up slashing him across the face." she said.

"Is that why he has that scar across his eye? I saw it when he was looking at me on the bridge." Saya said, earning a nod from Rei.

"Taeyang raced toward the two men, distracting them enough for Hinata to run. However, the second man quickly caught up to him, and put a sack over his head, pinning him to the ground. While his father was distracted, the man tried to rape him. Thankfully, Taeyang was able to get free, and tackled the man off him. Sadly, the other man had a gun on him at the time and shot him fatally in the chest. They sped off, but Hinata was emotionally scarred after that. He watched his father die, right after almost being raped, it was too much for him to handle, so he just shut down for a bit. No one wanted to be his friend, he was always made fun of for his scar, and for not having a father to bring to school for father daughter events. One time, his mother came in dressed as a man to make Hinata feel better, and that only made him worse. Eventually, I decided to be friends with him, after all we were neighbors and were practically born at the same time. We've been friends ever since." Nozomi said.

"Wow I...didn't know he had been in such a messed up situation." Melanie said firmly. Saeko had a hardened look on her face as she got out of the tub, grabbing a towel from the pile they had brought in.

"I'm done here, I need to start making dinner anyway." she said, leaving the bathroom.

"She's right, we should be getting ready for tomorrow. We don't know what will happen, so it's best to be prepared." Nozomi said, grabbing her own towel. It wasn't long before all of the girls had grabbed their towels and had decided to end their shower. It had been a bit awkward after the story Rei and Nozomi had shared with them, but it at least made them understand Hinata a bit more.

"Jeez, it's about fucking time! You girls better have left me some hot water because I've been dying for a shower." Hinata said, brushing past the girl's as they walked out of the bathroom, not caring that they were all in towels.

"I'm sorry of there isn't, it wasn't my fault though!" Nozomi cried back, as she heard the door lock a few seconds later.

"Come on, lets hurry up and get dressed, before we all get a cold or something." Saya said firmly, walking to the couch where her change of clothes had been placed. She eyed Nick, who had fallen asleep on the couch, his ass high in the air. She huffed and looked away.

"Stupid." she muttered.

It wasn't long before Hinata had finally taken his shower. Luckily, there had been some hot water left for him to use. After two days out in the streets, half a day of him being caked in blood, it felt great to just wash away the grime. He didn't even care that his hair smelled like blooming cherries, and that he had to use Moonlight Musk body wash, he was just glad to be clean. After he was done with his quick shower, (he wanted to save time), he got dressed in the clothes he had chosen.

Not having an option, he put on the same underwear he had been wearing, though he had flipped them inside out. He couldn't complain about, as he could have not had any in the first place. He put on the fuzzy socks first, feeling a bit odd at how the felt. He ignored it, hopping into the jeans afterwards. Surprisingly, his initial assumption had been correct, and he had been able to fit in Rika's jeans, though the thigh area was a bit tight on him, he didn't really seem to care. He put on his belt, buckling it loosely around his waist, but secure enough that it wouldn't fall off if he had to run. Finally he donned the green shirt, frowning at Hello Kitty's appearance on it. His nose scrounged up a bit as he dried his hair.

" _Hello Kitty scares the shit out of me. How the fuck can she even talk when she doesn't have a mouth?"_ he thought to himself, drying off his hair as best he could. He tossed the towel in the hamper and opened the bathroom door, walking into the living room. The first thing he caught was the scent of fresh food being cooked, the second thing he caught was the sound of a dog barking rather loudly, and the third was obviously his friend who was laying on the floor, an empty beer bottle next to her.

"What the fuck Nozomi, are you serious?" he snapped, causing the girl to sit up. She hiccuped, her cheeks tinged slightly pink.

"Oh...hiiii Hinata...there's four of you in front of me~" she slurred, a goofy smile on her face. Hinata knelt down beside her, grabbing the bottle from the ground, taking a whiff from it.

"Ugh...jeez, what the hell kind of booze is this?" he asked, looking at the label. It was in some language he couldn't even understand, most likely foreign. Nozomi giggled, twirling a strand of violet hair between her fingers. Hinata took notice of what she was wearing, a black tank top, which was really tight on her, along with a pair of lacy purple panties, and nothing else.

"Hinata...are you mad at me?" Nozomi asked, a pout on her lips, she had a really cute look on her face, most likely trying to act innocent while being drunk. He sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm not mad at you sweetie, just don't make stupid mistakes like this. The dead are walking, so we need to be in our right mind in case shit hits the fan." he said, standing up. He tossed the bottle into the trash, brushing past Saeko as he grabbed a glass, filling it with water. He walked back to where he had left his friend, and handed her the glass.

"Drink that, it'll help." he said. She took the glass, her hand trembling a bit as she downed the clear liquid. She gave Hinata a grin before passing out, the boy barely grabbing her before she hit the floor. He set the glass on the island, kneeling down to pick up his sleeping friend. He walked over to the couch Nick was sleeping, and kicked him as hard as he could, making him jolt awake, falling to the floor.

"Ah, what the fuck?" he cried out, though his tone was full of grogginess. Hinata set Nozomi down on the couch, and she instantly settled into it, getting into a fetal position. Nick rubbed his eyes, looking at the sleeping purplette.

"The hell happened to her, and what are you wearing?" he asked curiously.

"She got drunk, and clothes from Rika's closet. Hurry up and get cleaned up, I'm gonna head upstairs with the guys and check over our weapons in case we have to leave." he said, turning toward the stairs. He slowly made his way up them, brushing past Takashi and Rei who had been talking to each other for awhile. Walking back into Rika's room, he noticed the television set had been turned off. Kohta had been looking toward the bridge with the high tech binoculars, a stern look on his face.

Hinata walked into the closet, looking around for something to put his extra ammunition in. He found a black satchel purse on the top shelf and grabbed it, pulling it off with a couple other satchels. He grabbed them as well and walked back into the bedroom. He set them down next to the guns and grabbed all of the magazines, stuffing them into the satchel, followed by the extra cases that was with the magazines. He zipped it up and grabbed a second satchel, stuffing it to the brim with shotgun shells, adding in a couple unopened cases as well. He slung both satchels over his shoulders, both straps crossing over his chest.

"Man, this is bad." Kohta said, entering the room with a look of shock on his face. Hinata looked up, slightly concerned.

"What's up?" he asked. The portly boy only handed him the binoculars and gestured to the balcony. He walked over to the edge of it, taking a look down to the bridge. He saw what looked to be a bulldozer plowing through cars, Freaks and living people. He swallowed hard, shifting his view to some of the nearby streets. One man was taken down, and instantly torn apart by a group of Freaks. Another man had been pinned to a vending machine, and had his throat ripped right open, his blood smearing over the machine.

"It's gotten worse...much worse! It won't be long until the end of everything." he muttered dryly. The dog barks got louder, but he wasn't able to see it anywhere. Takashi made his way onto the balcony, accepting the shotgun Kohta handed him.

"I heard you two talking, is something wrong?" he asked. Hinata nodded, handing him the binoculars.

In the streets below, the sound of running could be heard, a young survivor was trying to make his way through the horde. He shot one with his shotgun and grinned to himself. He popped it open, dumping the empty shells, before loading two new ones.

"Come on you bastards." he cried, shooting another one. He gave a sharp scream as one bit into his neck. He was pulled to the ground seconds later.

"That's so damn cruel." Takashi cried, slamming his fist onto the railing. He held onto his shotgun rather tightly. He turned to leave when Hinata took his arm.

"And what are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"Shoot them? What the fuck else?"

"Did you forget, sound attracts them?" Kohta snapped.

"This isn't like before, when we were both at our schools. Everyone was trying to get out fine, so saving as many as we could made sense. But look around you, everyone is trying to survive. We can't save them all Takashi." Hinata said, a firm tone in his voice, one could tell he was serious.

"I thought you of all people thought differently Hinata." he said.

"Don't give me that shit. Don't you know if I could do something I would? But right now I've got to think of what I'm going to do. There's no way I'm going to risk Nozomi's life to save someone who might not even thank me. Going down there isn't just a waste of time, it's a waste of bullets, something I can't afford to do." he said firmly.

"I agree with Hinata. As much as I hate to admit it." Saeko said firmly. None of them had even noticed her arrival. She was holding her wooden sword in her hands, arms crossed with disdain, a frown on her face. Kohta took one glance at her, letting out a high pitched screech when he saw what she was in.

She was wearing a frilly white apron, over her bare body, without a shirt underneath it. It only served to cover the front of her body, outlining every curve she had. She was also wearing a pair of black panties, which looked rather tight on her. She was also wearing a pair of white slippers on her feet, her hair having been tied up in a high ponytail.

"We are all trying to survive, but the dead prey on the living. And the living prey on us, they see the light, and flock to it like moths to a flame. We need to stay in the dark." she replied, turning off the lights in the bedroom, throwing the porch into darkness.

"But...we can't just..."

"Takashi, take a look around you. Tell me what you see, and then you might understand what we are trying to show you. Trust me, I don't like it either, but this is the way the world is now. You best get used to it." She said, handing him the binoculars. She walked off, heading back downstairs..the dog barks seemed to grow louder, as they drew the horde closer to where they were. Hinata sighed, walking back into the room.

He grabbed his shotgun, and checked it over, making sure it was ready in case he needed it. He slung the AR-15 onto his shoulder and started walking down the stairs into the living room. Saeko had dimmed the lights a bit, enough for her to see but not enough for anyone outside to notice them. Nick had been watching through the window, a frown on his face.

"There are tons of Freaks moving around out there. It will be hard if we have to leave on a dime." he muttered quietly.

"Yeah, which is why you'll need to be armed. Here, this shotgun is really easy to use. This satchel is filled with extra shells, so you'll be good." Hinata said, handing both to Nick.

"Are you insane? I barely know how to use that dinky .38 special, you think I can handle this shotgun?"

"It isn't hard. When you are about to fire, all you have to do is lean into it, because of how powerful it is, making sure your leading foot is planted firmly onto the ground. This model of shotgun holds six shells, but you can get seven in if you have one in the chamber. When you run out of ammo, open this gate on the bottom and feed the shells into the tube, cock it back and it's ready to go. Just make sure not to press the button on the bottom of the pump, it'll make it so it doesn't chamber the round and you'll have to cock it again. I'm gonna ask Kohta to remove it when we have the time." he said. Nick nodded, slinging the satchel across his shoulder, grabbing the gun firmly in his hand.

"What about that rifle? Think you can handle it?" Nick asked curiously. Hinata smirked, glancing at the silenced rifle on his shoulder.

"My uncle taught my how to fire assault rifles. I fired an AR-15 before, standard Police issue though. This one has been modified for short and long distance, and it's had its automatic function taken off. I'm sure I can handle it, the suppressor will definitely go a long way." he said firmly. Nick was about to say something with a single gunshot tore through the quiet house, jolting Nozomi and Melanie awake, the two girls had been sharing the same couch for awhile now, and when the blonde realized it, she stood up, taking a few steps away from the purple haired girl.

"What the fuck was that?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"That was a gunshot." Hinata said, only to hear a second one, and then a third. He nodded firmly, looking out the window, seeing several Freaks falling to the ground, one after the other, their heads being blown apart.

"Kohta wouldn't shoot unless there was a legitimate reason. Something must be happening." he said, pulling his own rifle off his shoulder. He flicked the safety switch on the trigger guard, pulling the slide back until it clicked. A grin worked it's way onto his face when he heard the sound of the chambered round. Takashi came down the stairs, putting his blazer on, along with his biking gloves.

"Takashi, what's going on?" Rei asked curiously, a bit frightened at the sound of gunfire.

"There's a little girl outside, and I can't bring myself to let her die, so I'm going to rescue her. I can get to her on the bike and bring her back." he said firmly.

"But Takashi, that's dangerous, at least let me go." Rei said, grabbing his arm.

"No, I'll be fine on my own. Sorry Rei, but I can't let you risk your life." he said.

"Takashi..."

"Let him go! A man's decision is his bond, we'll keep the house safe until you return." Saeko said, brandishing her wooden sword. Takashi nodded, looking at the purple haired girl.

"For whatever its worth, I'm sorry. But I can't bring myself to be that kind of person." he said, heading toward the door.

"I understand. It's quite alright." the girl said, giving him a smile.

"Takashi, at least take this with you."

Rei handed him an extra .38 special, that they had recovered from a police officer in town. Takashi nodded, taking the gun and placing it in his pocket. He put on his shoes and opened the door. Hinata looked at everyone else, walking toward the front door.

"I'll cover you from the street, give you a little extra protection. This place is going to get invaded fast, so start packing up. Nick, wake those two up and help Kohta pack the essentials, Nozomi get dressed, and start packing up the food." He said. He grabbed a pair of black boots that had been placed by the entrance, along with a few other pairs, all of them being military issue, though the ones he picked were the only ones without heels. He slipped his feet into them, surprised that they fit him perfectly, and tied the laces. He walked outside, climbing onto one of the square fence posts. Kohta had taken quite a few Freaks out, and had been keeping the area clear of them, the dog barks were also coming from that direction. Hinata nodded to himself, raising the rifle to his shoulder, steadying his breathing.

"Hey Kohta, who ever kills the least amount of Freaks has to carry the ammunition until we find a safer place." he said, looking at the balcony. The teen smirked, replacing his magazine.

"Then you better hurry, I just took out twenty of _them_. At this rate it'll be you eating those words." he said. Hinata lined up his first shot, a young woman with a hole in her cheek. Licked his lips and pulled the trigger. The kickback was a little harder than he expected, but was absorbed quite well by the stock of the gun, even with its design. The woman's head snapped back, half of her face and teeth gone.

"Damn it, I was off target." he muttered, quickly lining up the next shot.

"What the hell is going on here?" Saya snapped, walking down the stairs. By this point, Takashi had already vaulted over the Freaks on his bike, speeding up the street to rescue the little girl. Hinata glanced at her, pulling the trigger of his gun, getting two headshots with a single bullet. He heard Kohta's whistle of approval, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"Oh, Lady Saya...Takashi went to rescue a little girl so we thought it best to give him some cover fire. Would you mind helping Nozomi and Nick pack up? We can't stay here after all this noise." he said, rather politely. The girl blushed, fixing her glasses.

"Why the hell are you being so formal?" she asked, glaring at him. He looked at her briefly, lowering his rifle.

"Well, you are the daughter of Don Takagi, the former Lord of Tokunosu. I just thought I would show some respect." he said with a shrug. He rose his gun again, letting out another round, receiving a muffle sound due to his suppressor. The girl sighed and walked up the stairs, taking heavy steps.

"Just call me Saya, you idiot!" she snapped, disappearing through the door.

"Will do." he called back. He heard a loud slam and looked back to where Takashi was, though from his vantage point, he couldn't see over the large fence. He did see the metal gate being slammed shut, a single gunshot filling the air afterwards. He sighed audibly, lowering his rifle, the barrel had been smoking a bit, the smell of gunpowder filling his nose.

"Hey Hinata, it seems you lost, I got thirty five while you only got nineteen." Kohta said with a grin.

"I suppose I did, but I get five extra points for the double headshot." he said.

"Fine by me, you still lose though."

Hinata slung his rifle across his shoulder and jumped down from the post, heading back up the stairs. Nozomi and Melanie had already packed up several plastic bags filled with food, water and clothes. He grabbed all of them and started heading down the stairs, setting them down at the foot of the stairwell.

"What the hell do we do now? It's gonna be hard getting Takashi and that girl back here." Rei said.

"We're gonna have to go get him." Shizuka said, still a little groggy from her nap. She had been walking down the steps, buttoning a white blouse over her body, her hair still being wet.

"That's not a bad idea. Surely that Humvee can take hits, we can barrel through them, the problem is fitting all of us and those supplies. We'll be wedged in to tightly, there might not be any room for Takashi or that little girl." Hinata said firmly.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's just start focusing on getting the stuff in the car." Saya said firmly, earning nods from everyone. Saeko opened the gate, scanning the street for any stragglers. She gave them a nod, and Hinata moved, carrying all of the bags in his hands, heading behind the car. Rei opened the trunk door, and he placed them neatly in the back. Nick came running after, holding two black cases and all of their backpacks filled with medical supplies.

"All the extra ammunition and gun parts are in these cases." he said simply.

"Anything else?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, Kohta is bringing the last of the weapons with him, after that we're all set to go." He said. Hinata nodded, and walked to the front of the car, looking out into the drive way, his rifle firmly in his grasp. He looked to his left, seeing a few Freaks shambling toward them. Lining them up, he easily killed them, their bodies dropping into the hard pavement.

"You seem to be a natural with that gun, glad my dad gave you lessons?" Rei asked curiously, standing next to her cousin.

"Of course I am, I'll never regret learning to use this kind of stuff. I wish I had Kohta's training in firearms, but the basics are better than nothing. Get in the car, I'll keep watch until Kohta gets down here." he said. She turned around, heading back to the car, getting into the back seat, while Saya was already sitting in the front. He saw Nozomi and Melanie dive into the back, pressing themselves against either side of the car, leaving enough space for a few more people, even then it would be a tight squeeze on them all. He sighed.

"If only there was another militarized vehicle I could steal from somewhere." he muttered dryly, looking up at the sky. The stars were barely visible, tall plumes of smoke rising steadily into the air.

"Hinata, we're all set." Kohta called out. Hinata raced toward the humvee, climbing onto the roof of it, just as Kohta opened the hatch. He grabbed the handles on it, giving him a nod.

"Go for it." he said, holding down as hard as he could. The engine roared to life, the entire vehicle shaking from the sheer intensity of it. Shizuka shifted into drive, pulling out of the driveway.

"Hang on everyone!" she cried, the car started picking up speed, and Hinata was forced to duck, as several Freaks ended up rolling over the windshield, right over him and Kohta. He grinned, feeling that rush in his bloodstream again. He looked at Takashi, who was carrying a little girl on his back, along with a puppy that was tucked into his jacket.

The little girl couldn't have been older than seven or eight, with dark fuchsia colored hair. She was wearing a light pink jacket, over a white and green striped shirt. She was also wearing a short pleated skirt, with a plaid pattern on it, long white stockings and sneakers. Her eyes had been firmly shut, as Takashi was making his way over the narrow path on top of the stone fence.

"Shizuka, side swipe them!" Hinata cried loudly, hoping the woman would hear him, luckily she did.

"Hang on!"

Kohta screamed loudly as Saeko knelt down, grasping the handles on the top of the Humvee, her large breasts literally were on the top of his head, blood had been leaking from his nose, making Hinata shake his head. Several loud thumps filled their ears as the bodies of the undead were sent flying in all directions. Hinata saw an arm literally being crushed by the tire. They had pulled to a stop as close as they could to Takashi. Saeko looked down at Kohta, who was still blushing.

"Give them some cover would you?" she asked. He grabbed the shotgun he had been holding, cocking it loudly.

"Kaboom!" he cried, firing a single round into the crowd of Freaks. As if by some miracle, or maybe their sheer luck, all of the Freaks around the right side of the car had been knocked back by the shockwave, some being torn apart entirely. Hinata flicked the safety off his rifle, smirking at Kohta.

"Round two, speed round for redemption!" he said, pulling the trigger hard, blowing apart the head of the nearest Freak. Saeko jumped down onto the street, and started taking down the nearby ones.

"No fair Hinata, you didn't give me a chance!" Kohta cried, cocking his shotgun.

" _I didn't know it at the time, but these friendly competitions between me and Kohta were going to become commonplace for us. This day, this night...it was the beginning of our transition. Walking around, with big guns for self defense, acting first, killing before being killed, it was all small changes, but drastic ones at the same time. Nothing would be the same, after the night we crossed the river. Everything would change, for better or for worse, that's for you to decide."_


	5. No Mercy:The Jewerly Store & The Streets

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to a new chapter of Those Who Walk Among the Dead! In the last chapter, Hinata and his friends reached Rika's apartment, and we're able to arm themselves with some sweet ass weapons, though the only new one that I personally added was the AR-15 variant, which is one of my personal favorite firearms. When I was thinking about weapons, I wanted him to have something practical but also doable in Highschool of the Dead standards. While I don't doubt someone has a bunker filled with guns somewhere over there, having guns to the level Cody did in my last story wasn't practical, so I just searched a tough and reliable rifle, and the AR-15 was one of the more common ones, aside from the M-16 of course. When looking for a scope, I wanted something that was easy to use, reliable, made for long distance and would fit Rika's standards, so I chose the Vortex Viper, one of the best scopes out there, as stated by several retailers and personal owners of it.**

 **From this chapter onward, we will start the No Mercy part of the story, based of course on the first campaign of Left4Dead one, but there aren't going to be any special infected, aside from the Runners which will be a sub breed of regular infected. Also, to follow with Left4Dead tradition, there will be safe rooms, but not all of them will have ammo dumps in them. They will find surplus amounts of ammunition, left behind by the Special Defense Forces, but not an alarming amount like in Left4Dead, probably enough for them to last for awhile if they conserve it, but it will make handguns seem like they have infinite ammo, as 9mm ammunition is among the most abundant in the world, followed by Shotgun shells I think...don't quote me on that one. We will also be introduced to a new character in the next chapter, so stay turned for that.**

 **Without further adooo...here is Chapter 5, hope you enjoy it! Leave a Review to tell me how I did...**

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 5

 _No Mercy for the Dead_

 _The Streets & Jewelry Store_

Even with everything that had been happening, Hinata was surprised to see clear blue skies when he awoke the next morning. He didn't know what time it was, nor did he care really. Due to the space within the Humvee, he had volunteered to sleep on top of it, since Shizuka had pulled into an empty parking lot that had been secured. They were making their way across the river, having gone up stream to a shallow area. The Humvee had a snorkeled engine, meaning it could easily drive through water, and with its sheer weight, there was no way the current would drag it away. On top of everything, it was also sealed tightly, so water wouldn't be getting inside, it made it a very versatile weapon to have.

Kohta had been up since dawn, helping Saya keep watch while Shizuka had been driving around, Hinata himself wasn't woken up until a mere hour ago when Saya told him they were about to cross the river. The young gunslinger had been sitting back against the windshield, his rifle tightly grasped in his hands. Alice, the girl they had saved the night before was also with him, holding onto his arm tightly as to not fall off the moving vehicle.

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream~" Kohta sang, making Alice laugh.

"Yay, sing it again Kohta."

"Haha! Alright...Row row row..."

Hinata had been trying to tune him out for the better part of an hour, looking up at the sky, teeth firmly grit, his grip on his gun tightening every so often.

"I can tell you're pissed."

He looked to his right, glancing at Saya who hadn't moved an inch. She hadn't even bothered to look at him, her focus solely on the embankment they were currently heading too. Her long pink hair blew in the wind, the long white ribbons used to hold it up moving in all directions. She had been wearing a short black tank top, which was very loose on her, and he tried his hardest not to look at her, especially since she wasn't wearing a bra underneath it, though thankfully she had been leaning forward on the hatch, hiding most of her chest. She was also wearing the shortest pair of running shorts imaginable, he didn't even think they were running shorts, and were actually a sad excuse for underwear, and part of him wanted to think that she did that for attention rather than because there was nothing in her size, after all, Saeko had already used that card, and it had been true, since none of Rika's shirts seemed to fit him, then again he wasn't a woman.

"Yeah well, you would be too if you had to hear someone sing the same song for half a freaking hour." He said, still glancing at the sky. She chuckled lightly, lowering her binoculars for a few seconds.

"I agree, but he's stepped up a lot. Taking care of the kid, it makes him a valuable asset." She said.

"Haha, alright now let's sing the filth version." Kohta said suddenly.

"Okay!" Alice cried out, her attention on the portly boy. He grinned, aiming his gun high into the air.

"Shoot, shoot, shoot your gun, change the magazine. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Life is but a scream!" he sung loudly, making the little girl laugh loudly. Hinata grit his teeth, slamming his fist onto the truck.

"Don't be teaching little kids filth songs like that! Don't bastardize Mother Goose!" he cried out firmly. It took him a second to realize Saya had said the exact same thing word for word. The two of them shared a look, looking away from each other a second later.

"Um...well that was interesting." Kohta replied, looking at Alice who had a curious look her face. They remained silent after that, with Alice giggling from the song the older teen had sung her.

Hinata's gaze was firmly fixed onto the sky once more. The clouds were moving at a rather fast pace, meaning the wind was blowing rather hard, coming in from the east it seemed. He hadn't seen a single plane take into the skies, where he had seen a couple of them taking off the day before. No military choppers or News choppers, hell not even an F-15, he had heard from Takashi that he and Rei had seen one while they were crossing the suspension bridge earlier yesterday morning.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Saya said, grabbing his attention. He was actually surprised that she was talking to him.

"I find it odd that no planes have taken off today. I counted six yesterday, all Boeing 767's heading in the direction of Okinawa, Kyoto and Hokkaido. I can tell no one is flying to Tokyo, seeing as that metropolis is bound to be filled with them, but I can't help by wonder where the military is." he said, licking his lips.

"Tokunosu International Airport is on the ocean, meaning you have to take a boat to reach it. Those lucky enough to get into said boats would probably get stuck at the terminals while they were checked over by the people stationed there. If even a single one of _them_ made it in, they'd be fucked in a matter of hours. I don't know if your situation was the same at Tokunosu West Academy, but in our school it happened fast, minutes even." she replied.

"Oh trust me, it was fast. It's still so fresh in my mind...that girl I saw in the hallway, the hole in her neck, the fact that she didn't die after smashing her head on the fire extinguisher, on the lockers, the fireman tearing that kid apart...Jesus...I still can't get over it." he said, his voice becoming a bit shaky.

"But you remained calm, you got people out of that safely. Not a lot of people can do that you know." Saya replied, raising the binoculars up once more, taking a closer look at the streets above the embankment. She hadn't seen a single infected since they had started crossing the river, and that was something that worried her.

"You know, we don't have to act like we don't know each other. We both went to Shintoko Third Elementary, and we've both known Rei and Takashi since we were young. I only act polite around you because your father scares the shit out of me, for formalities sake and all." he said, eyes still transfixed on the sky. He glanced back to the front, seeing the odd look Kohta was giving him, most likely having listened to their entire conversation after being told to shut up. Saya chuckled, shaking her head.

"I thought you didn't want to speak to me again after what happened in Fifth Grade." she said.

"Hey, what happened in Fifth Grade was an accident and you know it. How the hell was I supposed to know the girl's locker room and the boy's locker room had been switched during the break? I didn't read the signs, it wasn't my intention to walk into a room filled with naked girls." he snapped, causing the pinkette to laugh.

"Yeah, naked girls that were all part of the Softball team, and chased you with baseball bats through the empty halls. I just pointed them in the right direction, I didn't mean to get your arm broken." she admitted, feeling a bit of regret. He sighed, shaking it off.

"It's fine, if I were in that situation I would chase me too, though was the wedgie necessary? My arm was broken and I was already suffering, I didn't need my boxers turned into a thong!"

"Hey, talk to your cousin about that, she's the one that suggested it, I was just watching from afar, seeing just how much of a big idiot you really were."

Hinata mumbled a swear under his breath. It had been years since he had talked to Saya in a friendly matter, so he had completely forgotten how she acted and how she viewed herself. Her superiority complex had gotten worse with time it seemed.

A few minutes later, they ended up arriving at the other side of the river. Once they had stopped, Hinata grabbed his rifle and hopped down onto the ground, popping his back. He stretched his tired limbs, rolling his neck for a few seconds, before shouldering his gun. He looked around, finding it surprisingly clear, of living or dead.

"Hmm, that's odd." he muttered to himself.

"Hey, morning." Nick said, standing next to his friend, shotgun in hand.

"Have a good sleep?" Hinata asked, glancing back at him.

"As best as I could. My back is killing me, but I can't complain, I could be sleeping with the fishes right now after all." he said, chuckling a bit.

"That was a horrible analogy man, really horrible. Anyway, don't you find it a little odd that there aren't any people over here? There's no one around, living or dead." he said.

"Most of them are still up there on the bridge. I'm surprised as you are though, seeing as there's no police officers station in this area." Nick replied.

"Hey Takashi, give me a hand here." Kohta said, holding Alice over the edge, the girl crossed her legs, holding her skirt down.

"Don't look...my underwear." she said softly, sparing a glance at the fabric pinned to the Humvee's antenna.

"Um.." Takashi said, reaching out for the girl, only for her to be taken by Rei.

"Jeez, don't be so insensitive. We're going to change, so don't you dare look back here, that means you too Hinata." she said, glaring at him.

"One time Rei, one fucking time! Jesus Christ you act like it was on purpose!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air.

"What exactly happened that made her say that?" Nick asked. Takashi and Hinata shared a look, both shaking their heads.

"That is a story for another time." Hinata said, shaking his head.

"Well, aren't you a spunky little guy." Takashi suddenly said, reaching down for the puppy he had saved the night before. It barked loudly, panting as he ran around the teen.

"Yeah, but you can't be too loud Zero, or else you'll attract too much attention." Kohta said, looking down at the dog.

"Zero?" Nick asked.

"If I'm correct, you named him after that fighter jet. The Mitsubishi Zero Fighter." Hinata said, making the teen grin.

"That's right, it was one of the planes used to kick our asses back in World War II, he's loud and spunky, small and fast, it just fit him you know." the teen replied, earning a nod from him. Nick picked the puppy up, his face being assaulted by his joyous licks.

"Ahaha, stop it!" he cried, earning several barks from the dog.

"Hey Takashi, I want you to take this, I would feel safer if you did." Kohta said, handing him the Ithica. Takashi shook his head.

"I don't know how to use it." he replied.

"It isn't that hard. This is a shotgun, meaning you don't have to be too precise when firing, the spread will take out anything you point the barrel at. This particular model can only hold five shells in the tube, and one in the chamber for a total of six shells." he said.

"Okay, what if I run out of ammo?" Takashi asked. Kohta flipped the gun over, showing him the small lift gate on the bottom of the gun near the trigger guard.

"All you have to do is open this gate here and put the shells in like so. Another really neat feature about this gun is that you can't fire it while the pump is back, so you don't have to worry about misfiring it while you are loading it. You also have a red dot sight, so that will make it a little easier when shooting." he said. Takashi accepted the gun, looking it over.

"If worse comes to worse I can just bash them with it." he said.

"You are so hopeless." Hinata said, chuckling as Kohta fumed a bit.

"Good morning Hinata!"

The teen looked away from his friends, locking eyes with Nozomi who was finally fully dressed. Even though she was wearing her school uniform, she still looked ready to fight. She had discarded her blazer, having replaced it with a leather vest she had gotten from Rika's house, which she had buttoned up to her breasts. Her sleeves had been rolled up the elbows, and she was wearing a pair of black leather gloves. Her hair was in it's usual style, pulled into two lose ponytails held up with black ribbons. She was wearing a pair of lacy black stockings and some knee high leather boots, which had bright purple laces. He recognized them as the pair that had been next to the ones that he had grabbed the night before. She had a black police belt around her waist, another thing salvaged from Rika's house, the handle of one of the .38 specials sticking out of the holster. He smiled, giving her a thumbs up.

"You look ready to kick ass. Can you handle that gun though?"

"It's a .38 special Hinata, not a rocket launcher. I can handle it, thankfully, Rika had plenty of ammunition for this particular gun, no handgun though, which surprised me." he said.

"Hello, I'm here too you know." Melanie said, grabbing his attention.

She looked drastically different than Nozomi, having replaced her uniform entirely. She was wearing a white tank stop, which was tied up, leaving her navel exposed, showing off the glittering bellybutton piercing she had. She was wearing a tight pair of blue shorts, with a white leather belt. She had traded in her worn sneakers for a pair of black Uggs, which reached up to her calves, the tips of her white socks barely visible. She was wearing a gray jacket over her shirt, leaving it unzipped. Her long blonde hair had been left down. She was holding Nick's baseball bat in her hands, not wanting a firearm for herself, though they only had a spare one.

"You look nice too." Hinata said.

"That's it? You look nice? Are you trying to piss me off?" the blonde snapped.

"Okay, you look really beautiful this wonderful morning. The lack of makeup on your face actually brings out the color of your eyes, as the blush wasn't needed in the first place. The pink lipstick makes you look cute yet attractive at the same time, and the curls in your hair brings out your maturity...jeez." he said, turning around and walking off, content with getting away from her for now. Melanie nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"That's better. I normally have throngs of boys telling me how pretty I am, I was starting to forget how that felt like." she said.

"Ugh...you are so conceited." Saya muttered, walking past the blonde, a look of disdain on her face.

Hinata had decided to climb up onto the street, since Shizuka had to bring the car up there, he figured he would take a look around. He grabbed the rifle off his shoulder, flicking the safety off. He reached the top of the stairs and started scanning the area, not seeing anything. He saw a big blood patch a few meters away, which was slowly dripping into a storm drain. He also saw a tipped over car a few blocks from where he stood, closer to the bridge, but he didn't see anyone, living or dead.

"This is weird." he muttered. He turned around, giving a shrill whistle.

"Bring it up, you're all clear!" he cried out. Takashi and Kohta moved up to where he was, guns in hand. The Humvee roared to life, and shot up the grassy slope at such a fast pace that it ended up flying over their heads. Hinata ducked, pulling his friends down as the car slammed down behind them, pulling to a stop.

"Jesus Christ, all of the Freaks that are around and I'm gonna die because of an Asian driver." Hinata said, his face white as a ghost. Everyone got out of the car shortly after, looking around the area.

"I was expecting to see something over on this side." Takashi said, looking around.

"Maybe the Police kept order in this area, that's why there's none of _them_ wondering around." Rei said rather enthusiastically.

"Yes, and maybe curb side recycling is still happening!" Saya said, sarcasm lacing her voice.

"Yeah...wait." Rei said, realizing what the pinkette had said a fraction of a second later.

"Well, what do we do now?" Nick asked.

"We still need to find our parents. The East Station isn't far from here, but we're low on gas as it is." Takashi said. Hinata looked around, familiarizing himself with his surroundings. He snapped his fingers.

"Saya, isn't your house around here?" he asked.

"At the top of the hill. Its a large mansion, with fences all around." she said.

"Perfect, we can hole up there and rest for a bit. We can set out from there and find your parents." Hinata said, looking at his friends.

"If that's okay with Saya. You can't just invite yourself like that Hinata." Nozomi said, slapping his arm.

"Don't worry about it, at this rate my father would have most likely turned our front lawn into a refugee camp. Can't really say I'm looking forward to going home." she said, muttering the last part.

"Alright then, so we'll go to Saya's house first and rest for awhile, then we'll make plans to head to our homes. Hinata, Nozomi where do your parents live?" Takashi asked curiously.

"We live next to each other, seven blocks away from Shintoko Third Elementary. Your houses are closer to Saya's, I remember always looking at the top of the hill and seeing that mansion but I never guessed she lived there. We might as well just stop in at your place first." Hinata said.

"What about you Nick? Melanie?" he asked.

"My father is away on leave, so there's no point in going to my house, other than to get supplies. My little sister is also out of town, so I don't know if she's alright or not, but I can't really worry about her, she can defend herself well enough." Nick said, earning a nod from the spiky haired teen, who then looked at Melanie.

"I live in a small cul-de-sac, near the big flower shop that's close to Taiei Shopping Town." she said.

"Okay, so Saya's is the closest for now, let's all just focus on getting there then." Takashi said. Just like that, everyone started getting back into the Humvee, with Rei and Takashi volunteering to stay on the roof, while everyone else was inside.

"Man, I would kill for some music right about now." Nick muttered, looking out the back of the Humvee, due to all of the people inside, he had been wedged into the back, between Melanie and Kohta, who was busy looking over the runs.

"I have my Ipod on me, but it's most likely dead." the blonde girl said, reaching into her pocket, pulling out her bright pink flip phone and an Ipod touch, both having charms attached to their cases. She pressed the home button on the music device, a frown on her face.

"Yup, knew it."

"Well, if you want some music, I'm a pretty good rapper. I got something that's bound to make all of us laugh a little." Hinata said, earning a curious look from everyone.

"Okay, let's hear it." Nick said. Hinata cleared his throat, a smile on his face.

"Look, if you had...one shot...one opportunity, to seize a small boy in your enclosure. Would you capture him, or let him slip?

Yo, his palms are sweaty, life's bleak, child is heavy

There's a sniper aimed at him already, mom's upsetti

Park service, they're nervous but look calm and ready

To embalm, but they keep on regretting'

What they shot down, the internet grows so loud

They open their mouth, but the memes

Won't stop now

Provoking' how, everyone's revolting' no

Dicks are out, Harambe's down, over, blaow!"

"Jesus Christ, stop talking!" Saya snapped, glaring at Hinata from the front seat. Kohta looked like he was a second from loosing his shit and Nick was out right laughing. Nozomi sighed, shaking her head while looking at her best friend.

"Really Hinata? I thought you got over Harambe already?" she asked.

"I'll never be over Harambe, are you insane? Our sweet prince, taken from us at such a young age. He wasn't even an adult dammit. 800 silver back gorillas left in existence and those fucks had to kill him! Hopefully these Freaks took care of them!" He said firmly.

"Can we talk about something else please? You are really burning away my brain cells." Saya snapped, making the black haired teen nod.

"Okay, I guess I can move on to jokes then. Alright, so a Priest and a Rabbi with a boner walk into a bar..."

"That might be a little inappropriate for Alice to hear." Saeko said firmly, though she was smiling a bit.

"That puts a damper on things, all of the jokes I have are rated R." he muttered, crossing his arms. Kohta patted his shoulder, a smile on his face.

"Hey, maybe you can tell us later. I'm gonna keep a look out." he said, poking his head through the hatch. The AR-10 firmly in his grasp. Hinata's grip on his AR-15 tightened a bit. He had almost forgotten about the Freaks, for that split moment in time.

"I know what you are trying to do Hinata, and it's really sweet that you are trying to make us laugh, but maybe we can all hear your jokes when we have a stable place, after all they are the most messed up and funny jokes only you can come up with." Nozomi said, a warm smile on her face.

"Thanks Zo, I appreciate you cheering me up!" he said, leaning back against the side of the car. They all remained quiet after that, all of them focused on other things, most likely lost in thought about everything that had happened in a short period of time. Hinata still couldn't believe it, almost three days had passed since the Freaks started walking the earth, and everything had changed. He closed his eyes, trying to remember what he had been doing the days leading up to the end.

" _I was playing video games. Call of Duty, Nazi Zombies, ironically enough. I don't remember what I did the night before the end, its all just a blur, mixed into a reality that doesn't exist anymore."_

The last question his teacher asked him made its way to the forefront of his mind. He chuckled dryly, remembering his reply. Being taught how to balance a check, that was a skill that Hinata honestly wanted to have, but now it didn't even matter. Banks didn't exist and the need for money had been the least of his worries.

"What's funny? Laughing at your own jokes?" Saya asked curiously.

"Not really, the day shit hit the fan, I got kicked out of class by my teacher. He asked me a stupid question, and I gave him a decent reply. He wanted me to find the Circumference of Saturn's rings, as if I would need that in a practical every day job. Balancing a check seemed like a much better skill to me. I hated the education system for the way it handled its teaching, but right now...I wouldn't mind being in class, in my seat in the back of the room etching my name on the desk that had just gotten replaced." he said.

"I think we all wouldn't mind being in class. Except Kohta, he loves his guns too much." Nick said.

"Damn straight I do." the portly boy replied, causing all of them to chuckle. Hinata closed his eyes, a soft smile on his face.

"Maybe I'll just take a nap." he said, settling into his spot, wedged between Saeko and the back of Shizuka's seat. He would need his rest, and besides, he hadn't slept much while being on top of the Humvee. He already felt his consciousness start drifting off.

"It's _them,_ distance 300 meters!" Kohta cried out. Just like that, Hinata was wide awake. He resisted the urge to just stand up, since it would result in him banging his head on the roof. He moved from his spot behind the driver's seat, and crawled between the two seats, looking out the front.

"Jesus, why are there so many?" he asked.

"Who cares, Miss Shizuka, take a right here." Saya said, pointing to the alleyway they were about to pass.

"Um...alright." she said, slamming the brakes, drifting into the turn. They sped up through the narrow path, reaching another street. She turned up it, only to see a larger group.

"Take a left here, hurry!" Saya cried, the woman nodded, taking the hard left turn. They passed by a large park, filled with tons of them. They just wouldn't stop coming.

"Why are they here of all places, we hadn't seen them in such a long time!" Nozomi said.

"There has to be a reason why." Nick added, his grip on his shotgun tightening. Shizuka turned into an open street, and floored it lurching the vehicle on. Hinata noticed the large group of Freaks in front of them, the walls around them had risen, narrowing the street even more than before.

"Run 'em over!" Saya cried out. Hinata gripped the arm rest tightly, the dull bangs filling his ears as the Humvee slammed into every Freak in front of them. The sickening crunch of breaking bones and spilled blood was making him sick, but he tried to ignore it. He looked up after a minute, noticing something blocking the road ahead. His eyes went wide.

"Holy shit, it's a wire. They blocked the road!" he said. Saya noticed it as well, turning to the Nurse.

"Quick, turn the car onto its side, let it take the brunt of the impact!" she said.

"Hang on!" Shizuka cried, turning the wheel hard to the left. The Humvee drifted, slamming into the wire with all of its weight, and still it didn't budge. Kohta covered Alice's eyes, as blood had shot over the side of the car, bathing the glass in the red liquid.

"It's not moving, theres too much blood under the wheels." Takashi cried from above them.

"The wheels are locked, take your food off the brake and press the gas a little." Kohta called out. The woman did just that, lurching the car forward a few meters, only to slam on the brakes. Hinata had his eyes closed at the time, but he heard a loud bang on the hood of the car, followed by a pained cry.

"Rei!" Takashi cried out, making the black haired teen snap his head over the dashboard. His cousin was laying on the ground, unable to move from the hard impact she took. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, from fear and pain.

"Damn it, hurry and start the car." Saya cried, glancing at her fallen friend.

"I'm trying, but it keeps stalling." Shizuka cried, turning the key.

"Fuck it, I'm gonna go get her, you guys stay here." Hinata said.

"Are you insane, you'll die." Nozomi cried, taking a firm hold of his shoulder. He gave her a smile, kissing her cheek.

"I got this, you just stay here alright? I'll be back lickity split." he said, opening the door, hopping out into the road. He heard the sound of Kohta's rifle, knowing full well the speckled teen was going to fight as well.

"Takashi, we'll give you some cover, but you need to move!" Kohta said.

"Got it!" he cried, hopping down to where Rei was laying. He held his gun tightly in his hands, taking aim at the horde.

"Alright, shoulder the gun, plant your feet firmly on the ground and fire!" he muttered, pulling the trigger. He took a few steps back due to the recoil.

"Cool...wait...I only killed one of them?" Takashi cried in surprised.

"You don't know what you are doing, because of the guns recoil the muzzle shifts off target and shoots too high. Aim for the chest, and lean into the gun!" Kohta cried, his focus on the horde not changing. Hinata dropped his empty magazine, shoving it in his pocket.

"Damn it, there's too many of them." he muttered, placing a new one into the receiver. He pulled the slide back, chambering a fresh round. Saeko stepped out a second later, brandishing her wooden sword. He spared a look at her, seeing the firm look on her face.

"Saeko, there's too many of them to fight with a wooden sword. Don't risk yourself." He said.

"Don't worry about me, I know there's too many to fight with just this, but that's why I have two people covering me." she said. She barreled the hilt of her sword into a nearby Freak, snapping its neck and sending the body tumbling to the ground, where she stabbed it through the eye. She took off, slamming her sword into the heads of all the nearby Freaks. Bodies were dropping faster than Hinata ever imagined. This was what Takashi had described to him the day before, when he told him about Saeko's abilities with a sword. He had to admit, it was a sight to behold. He aimed at one of the Freaks near the purple haired Samurai and pulled the trigger, its head snapping back spraying blood all over her. She didn't seem to care, having been too busy taking down the nearby Freaks. Bodies littered the ground around them, and the other Freaks seemed to have no issue stepping over them. Hinata heard the sound of shotgun shells dropping to the ground and looked at Takashi who was reaching for them.

"Shit!" he muttered. Hinata grit his teeth moving toward him.

"Pick them up, I got you!" he said. He took out the ones near him, bashing one that got a little close for comfort.

"Hinata, your gun has a three round burst option, did you not check it over before we left?" Kohta asked, replacing his magazine, it had been his second one.

"It does...I didn't see it." Hinata said. He looked at the switch on the side, where the original safety feature had been installed, seeing the switch. The word Fire was written in it, in red, and underneath it was a second option, a number three. He flicked it to that option, taking aim at the group. He pulled the trigger, feeling the heavy kick back. He saw two of the Freaks come down hard. He grinned, pulling the trigger again.

"It might be a waste of ammo, but fuck it, I'll take anything right now." he said. Takashi had almost been surrounded, but thanks to his quick wits he had been able to smash some heads with his gun. He dropped it after a second, wrapping his arms around Rei's body, the girl groaning in pain.

"I guess this is it." he said, making her gasp. He buried his face in her shoulder, wrapping his arm around her back. He felt the strap of her gun, and pulled on it, quickly flipping around her, using her body to stabilize the gun.

"Kohta, what about this?" He cried out.

"Flick the lever on the trigger guard, that disengages the safety!" Kohta said. Takashi flicked his finger, a loud click filling his ears.

"Pull the loading rod and your ready to fire!"

Takashi nodded, pulling the slide back, loading a round in the chamber. He looked through the scope, pulling the trigger. The gun kicked back, making Rei scream in pain. He pulled the trigger again and again, the recoil making the buttstock slam hard into her breasts.

"That's one way to fire a gun I suppose." Hinata muttered, replacing his spent magazine. He heard the pump of a shotgun beside him, and saw Nick, his aim straight ahead.

"I've never fired this before, but I heard Kohta's explanation, so I'll assume it works the same." he said. He leaned into his gun a bit, pulling the trigger. Several bodies dropped, making the teen smile. Hinata continued spraying bullets into the crowd, making sure not to hit Saeko, who was flipping around slamming her sword down on any Freak that came close to her.

"This is madness, there's no way we'll take them all down, all this noise is going to bring more." Hinata muttered.

"It's better to fight and die than die and not fight. At least that's how I see it." Nick said, walking forward a bit. The door to the Humvee opened, and Saya hopped out, grabbing the Ithaca by her feet. She grabbed all of the shells Takashi had dropped and loaded them into the tube.

"What are you doing?" Hinata asked, sparing a glance back.

"Taking care of business." she said.

"Do you know how to use it?" Kohta asked, replacing another mag, that had been his forth if Hinata had counted right.

"Please, I'm a genius." the replied, looking back to see a Freak about to bite her. Hinata reacted quick, slamming his stock into the side of its head, sending a yellowish red liquid flying in all directions, including Saya's face. She stood there angrily for a few seconds, glaring at the crowd.

"You undead douche bags, this shit is designer!" she snapped, pulling the trigger, taking down three Freaks down. The recoil didn't even seem to bother her, but Hinata decided not to stare, she was still not wearing a bra.

"Why won't I hit anything dammit?" Takashi snapped, as he kept pulling the trigger of his gun, missing every single shot. Hinata replaced his spent magazine, staring at all the spent shell casings. He had thirty magazines on him, each of them holding sixty rounds, and he had just spent 120 of them. His third would bring that count up to 180. At this rate, he would just be wasting ammo. He needed to distract them some how, but what could he use?

He looked ahead of him, at the crowd of Freaks, eyes widening when he saw one dressed in camouflage. It was a soldier, not just any soldier either, a US Marine. Most likely having been called into Tokunosu to help with evacuations, he was still wearing his vest, the broken remains of an M16A1 were being dragged by the strap that had some how been attached to his belt. He nodded to himself, slinging his rifle across his shoulder. Takashi's gun clicked empty, giving him the chance he needed to pull the bayonet off the still smoking barrel.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Making a distraction, I'll lead them in another direction and when I do, take Rei over the fence." he said.

"Are you insane? You could die."

"I don't give a shit. I'd rather it be me than her, just promise me you'll keep her and Nozomi safe for me." he said.

"Hinata, you know I can't do that man! Don't be a hero!" Takashi said.

"He's right, don't be stupid cousin, we don't need this."

"No! What you need to do is get your fucking ass out of here, before Kohta and Nick run out of ammo. Stop being a whiny bitch and get up, complain about the pain when your safe, I'm going!" he cried, running off toward the crowd.

"Hinata!" Rei cried loudly, he looked back, seeing her reaching for him. He also noticed Nozomi looking at him, a look of shock and horror on her face. He gave her a smile, as he reached the front line of the crowd. He grabbed a Freak by his shirt, slamming the bayonet through his jaw. He dropped the body and spun on his heel, driving it through a second one, pulling it out, he spun it on his hand and stabbed a third.

He didn't like sharing this with anyone, but he had learned how to fight with a bayonet from his uncle. Not even Rei knew about his skills with it, so fighting a crowd like this was something he could easily do. He dropped to the ground, sweeping a Freak off its feet, stabbing it as it fell. He stabbed the bayonet into ones abdomen and pulled up, spilling its blood and guts all over himself, he didn't even seem to care, not until the body dropped to the ground. That's when he noticed something. After the blood had been spilled on him, they didn't start reaching for him, in fact it was like something was turned off in them, they just kept walking around him. He narrowed his eyes, only for them to widen in realization.

Their sense of smell was still partially intact, and they could smell living humans, but not the dead ones. That meant that he could use their blood as camouflage. He grinned and raced toward the Marine, quickly ending its life. He pulled all of the grenades that had been attached to his belt. He also reached into his vest pockets, pulling out M9 magazines. The last thing he salvaged from him was the sleek black Beretta M9. He placed it behind his back and stepped out of the crowd, which had been getting closer to his group. He looked around, spotting a stairwell.

"Yes, that will do." he said, racing toward it.

"Hinata you idiot, what the hell are you doing?" Saya snapped angrily. He turned around, seeing her climbing the stairs after him.

"I could be asking you the same question. What are you doing here?"

"Same thing I'm doing, covering your ass. We'll lead them away and double back to Saya's. It isn't far from here." Nick said, slamming his shotgun into a nearby Freak, smashing its head against the wall. They climbed to the top of the stairs, taking out the Freaks that had gotten up there. Nick started banging his shotgun into the railing.

"Hey, you Motherfuckers over here!"

"Come get some fresh meat!" Saya added, doing the same with her shotgun. Hinata reached for his belt, pulling out the tan colored grenade he had salvaged from the deceased Marine, a smirk on his face. He pulled the pin, throwing it into the street.

"Get down!" he cried. Their eyes widened when they saw the pin. They threw themselves onto the ground, a loud explosion ringing through the area right after. Hinata looked up, seeing the crowd of Freaks hadn't moved an inch, though most of them were headed to where the explosion had happened. He grit his teeth, pulling out another one. That's when he saw a firing squad, made of fire trucks, firing their pressurized hoses into the crowd, the water seemed to be enough to kill them on sight.

"Well, would you look at that?" Nick asked, sitting up.

"No time, those ones are coming up, we need to haul ass out of here. My house isn't that far from here, we'll take the walk way through this parking garage, that will take us into the next plaza." Saya said. Hinata nodded and stood up, pulling his new weapon out of his belt. He checked the magazine, content with seeing it was fully loaded. He pulled the slide back, loading a bullet into the chamber.

"Let's go, you know this area better than I do." Hinata said, allowing Saya to take the lead. Nick handed her one of the shotgun shell satchels, which she slung on her shoulder. The three of them raced off, heading toward the nearby Car garage.

Hinata was actually glad he had taken an interest in parkour when he was fourteen, because he was able to run twice as fast as a normal person, due to all of the exercise he did on a daily basis. Add in his skills with a bayonet, and he would easily be a killing machine. If only his tormentors had known that little detail about him, he doubted they would have messed with him then. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Nick and Saya having no trouble keeping up with him. Having excited the car garage, they found themselves street side, once again in the residential area. Saya looked around for a few seconds, familiarizing herself with the area.

"This way, this is a small business district I used to pass on my way to school. This street will lead us to the hill, and then we'll have a straight path to my house." she said. The two of them nodded, once again sprinting up the street, as they were about to turn, they ran into a larger horde than the one before. Hinata grabbed her hand, pulling her in the opposite direction, quickly heading down another street. Seeing a couple more, he ducked into an alley way, running through a few streets. It seemed as if the closer they tried to get to Saya's, the farther away they would get. It didn't take long for them to get lost, the tiredness of their run finally getting to them. He looked around briefly, finding a a jewelry store not that far from where they were.

"This way." he said, running toward it. He pulled the door open, surprised to see it was open, pushing his friends into the store, he pulled the door shut, locking it for good measure. They panted for breath, looking around for a few seconds.

"Great...the only...place, without things to use...as a barrier." Nick said, wiping his forehead of sweat.

"Screw the storefront, we can just go to the back. We need to take a break for now, we can leave in two hours." Hinata said, heading toward the back. He opened the door, pointing his gun into the back room, flicking the light on. He looked around for a few minutes, walking deeper into the room, thankfully it was just a break room, with the other room being a bathroom. He flicked the safety on and placed the gun in his belt, gesturing to his friends to come into the room. Once inside he closed the door, pushing the couch back to block it. Nick groaned, falling into it, dropping his backpack.

"Man, it gets worse and worse the longer we go on." he muttered.

"What are you talking about? It could have gone much worse, that was a light jog compared to the shit I had to deal with getting out of the school." Saya replied. She filled a cup to the brim with water from the machine, downing it in one go.

"You guys are idiots. All you had to do was jump the fence, that was it. I could have made it to Saya's on my own." Hinata said.

"Oh sure, I'm sure Map Quest would have been very useful in your situation." Saya said, glancing at the black haired teen.

"Pfft, it isn't hard to find my way to your house. It sits literally at the top of the hill, I'm sure several streets head up to it."

"Yes, and it would have also been easier to just jump the fence." Nick said.

"Okay, that's enough of that. What's done is done, there is nothing we can do but focus on getting to my house. Hinata, what did you get off that dead soldier?" Saya asked.

"Nothing much, I got two grenades one of which I used back there, and this Beretta M9 with seven magazines, all having thirteen rounds a piece. That's it really." he said, placing the gun, the magazines and the grenade on the wooden table in the center of the room.

"I got three boxes of shotgun shells in my bag, and four in Saya's." Nick said.

"And I got twenty- eight magazines for my AR-15, and tons of rounds for my .38 special, we're good with guns, it's getting out of here that annoys me." he said.

"Well, this store is one I'm familiar with. My mom bought a lot of jewelry here before, so I know how to get home from here, it's just _them_ that are the problem. They are everywhere...which leads me to believe that there are more of those wire fences around. They probably put them there to keep them all in a single place, but now its turning to bite us in the ass. We're gonna have a lot of trouble if we run into more of them so when we leave lets keep our eyes peeled for them." Saya said, calmly loading shells into her shotgun.

"As if I didn't have enough dealing with the Freaks, now I gotta deal with metal fences, what a pain in my ass." Nick muttered dryly. Hinata sighed, laying down flat on the floor. He stared up at the ceiling, the scent of copper filling his nose.

"Goddamn it, and I was starting to like my Hello Kitty shirt." he said, making Saya chuckle. He sat up, shrugging out of the tight green shirt, thankfully, he had packed a few larger shirts from Rika's closet, though the only ones he had been able to find were pink. He didn't care at all, and just slipped the first one he could find on, placing his ammo satchel across his shoulder. He checked his phone, it was six in the afternoon, it wouldn't be long until it was dark outside. Even though it was a bad idea to go out in the dark, they all had flashlights mounted onto their guns, so it wouldn't be so bad. He just hoped they got to Saya's house in one piece, though in the back of his mind, he knew that would be easier said than done.


	6. No Mercy: The Apartments

**A/N: Hello to all my wonderful dragons! Celestial Sky Dragon here with the newest chapter of Those Who Walk Among the Dead. Last Chapter, Hinata and everyone else finally made it across the river. It was strangely peaceful for all of them and he thought it would be a smooth ride to Saya's house, but alas, things never go as planned, and now he, Saya and Nick are separated from the rest of the group and will have to meet up with them by taking the long way to Saya's house. It just so happens that the long way is through Mercy Hospital. So this will be the true beginning to the "No Mercy" arc of the story, it follows it pretty closely but there are some changes. We will also meet Savannah Westershire in this chapter, another survivor, who also happens to still be a kid. She will be a great help to Hinata and his friends as they go through the tribulations of their journey. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please leave a review, it keeps me motivated...**

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 6

 _No Mercy for the Dead_

 _The Apartments_

It was around eight o'clock when Hinata and his friends decided to leave the jewelry store. It was surprisingly calm, even for it being night time. The skies had darkened up quite a bit, and it had actually started drizzling. It wasn't cold at all, but the wind and the slight rain was making him shiver a bit. They had been walking silently for awhile now, mere minutes since they had left the store. Saya had been adamant about leaving the store at night, but he reassured that it would be better to make the journey to her house now rather than later. If they were quiet, they could sneak past any Freaks that they ran into.

He didn't know what street he was on, but it was worse than any of the streets he had seen on the West side of the city. There were bodies everywhere, some covered with blankets, others just laying in the middle of the street, club marks and bullet holes in their heads. Spent shell casings littered the floor, making him think of the Military, but he hadn't seen tire tracks at all, nor did he see shotgun shells, just regular 9mm ammunition, most likely people with handguns. He spotted a group of Freaks 400 meters out and gestured to his friends, who followed him into a nearby alleyway. The lights on the sides of the building flickered on and off on three or four second intervals. There was a flaming barrel not that far from where they stood, a fire escape leading to the roof of a brick building was partially destroyed, a couple dead bodies laying over the railing. Since he was the only one with a suppressed weapon, he had volunteered to be at the front. He had grabbed some zip-ties he had salvaged from the gas station and attached a small flashlight to his suppressor, the bright light shined down the alleyway, showing them every nook and cranny. He stopped in front of a pile of bodies, seeing a single hand raised up, missing its thumb. There was a bunch of green liquid around them, the smell reminded him a bit of skunk urine, mixed with formaldehyde.

"Hold up a bit." he said, walking toward the pile of bodies. He knelt down, shining his light at it. The skunky green liquid seemed to be coming out of their mouths, and had a viscous look to it. He almost wanted to touch it, but he decided against it.

"I haven't seen anything like this before." he muttered.

"No shit, it's only been a couple days, three or four at most. It would make sense to see stuff like this." Nick commented. Saya remained silent, content with keeping a look on their surroundings. Hinata stood up, cracking his back.

"They're changing...I don't know what, but the first Freaks we ran into at school couldn't smell us, but the ones from today ignored me when I had their blood on me, it's leading me to believe that whatever virus is doing this, is also mutating the human body. Without access to a lab, I can't say for sure." he said quietly.

"Just what we need. Let's move along before..." Saya paused, her head snapping in another direction. They could hear it, crying...and it sounded close. Nick licked his lips, looking around the area with his flashlight, all of them had attached one to their guns to make it easier to see, even with the street lights and lights coming off the buildings, it was a bit hard to see and they didn't want any blind spots. It's not like the infected could see them anyway.

"Someone's still alive!" Hinata said, looking at his friends.

"Yeah, or it could be someone trying to lure us into a trap. I wouldn't trust it." Saya said.

"But what if its someone in need? A little girl or something? It sounds like a woman." Nick said. Hinata remained silent, walking further into the alleyway. The doors leading up to the apartments were all wide open, and thankfully all of them seemed to be empty, not a shuffle or groan to be heard, just the crying. He paused after a second, facing a metal door that was directly to his right, almost next to a dumpster. There was a green exit sign right above the door, flickering every so often. He took a deep breath, reaching for the door knob.

"Hinata, think carefully about what you are doing. If it's one of _them_ and something happens, I will kill you." Saya said firmly. He chuckled.

"Do what you must, I'm not scared of dying, never was and never will be." he said, turning the knob, a quiet click filling their ears. He slowly opened it, the loud creek echoing through the room. He aimed his light around, looking everywhere. He heard the sound of banging from somewhere nearby, the crying had gotten significantly louder as well. He steeled his breath, his finger on the trigger.

"Hello? Is there someone still alive?" he called out, making sure his tone of voice was calm and even. He heard an audible groan on his left and aimed his rifle in that direction. Two Freaks were walking in his direction, they seemed to be adults, in their early to late thirties, the woman having bright crimson hair. He saw a backpack attached to the male, it was purple in color, and rather small, almost like a child's pack. Two swift shots and they dropped to the ground, lifeless. He looked around for a light switch, turning it on only for a few of the lights to turn on. Several bodies littered the floor, a few of them being Freaks, and the others being humans. He tried not to look at each one for too long, looking back at the door, he gestured for his friends to come in, closing the door right after themselves.

"What happened here?" Nick asked, taking a look at his surroundings.

"If I had to guess, these people tried to hole up in this warehouse, but one of them turned and bit someone else, probably resulting in gunfire, see the shell casings?" he asked, pointing at all of the bronze colored shell casings. Saya knelt down, ignoring the fact that the two boys could see her underwear, and picked up one of the shell casings, looking closely at it.

"45 Smith and Wesson APC. Whoever owned that gun was a foreigner, military perhaps." She said.

"How can you tell?" Nick asked, making her huff.

"I'm a genius, Japan made it illegal to carry or even own guns unless you are part of the Government or the Army, there is no way a civilian could own a .45 caliber handgun unless it was smuggled in, or an American Soldier handed it to them, thus leading me to believe that there was a Military person with this group." she said.

"Saya is right, the guns that we all have are ones that have been imported into the city, and while it's illegal for citizens to have them, it is legal for them to be used for hunting and sport, most likely, that could be the case here. I don't see anyone in combat ACU's, nor do I see someone who is old enough to be a soldier, after all we didn't start seeing Military until after the first day, and the ones I have seen haven't been alive, perse." Hinata said. He took a deep breath, ignoring the lingering scent of death in the warehouse.

"Check these bodies, they may have valuables on them, knives, flashlights, ammunition, be thorough but be respectful." he said, moving toward the couple he had shot minutes before. Saya and Nick shared a brief look, before going to inspect the other bodies.

Hinata knelt down next to the man, turning his body over to slip the backpack off. He had been right in his initial assumption. The backpack had an anime character on it, a magical girl by the looks of it, but he didn't seem to recognize the character at all, and he had seen various animes before the world had gone to shit, perhaps it was an obscure one? It annoyed him that he would never know the answer to that. He checked the man's pockets, pulling out a wallet. He flicked it open, frowning a bit.

Inside, was a picture of the man, and the woman beside him both happily smiling, between them was a little girl who wasn't older than ten, with bright crimson hair, tied into twin tails with black ribbons. He shifted his gaze toward the man's Identification, seeing his name.

" _Stephen Westershire, a British citizen, most likely a tourist. Christ, he came here with his family and ended up dying. But wait...where's his daughter?"_

He set the wallet down, and kept looking in the man's pockets, finding nothing of interest, other than a map of Tokunosu, which could be very useful to them. He searched the woman as well, finding her wallet and identification, her name being Samantha Westershire. He found another family picture in her wallet, but couldn't bare to look at it. He set the wallets down on the ground beside them, taking a look inside the backpack.

He didn't find much inside, a couple power bars and a half drank bottle of water. The only thing he found of particular interest was a box of 9mm parabellum bullets, but he didn't find a gun for it. Most likely, the man grabbed them off the street or from a police car but was unsuccessful in locating a gun. He zipped the backpack up, standing up and looking at his friends.

"Any luck?" he asked, looking at his friends.

"I got some Gatorade, but it's the shitty lemon flavor." Nick said, holding up the unopened bottle of the energy drink.

"I found some power bars, and a bag of gummy bears, half eaten." Saya said, a frown on her face. He tossed the girl the backpack, which she caught, almost dropping the stuff she'd found.

"Use that to put the stuff in, it's rather small but it's better than nothing." he said. She huffed, but it wasn't as if her friends could carry it, they had their own packs after all, and she was the only one without. She put the stuff she had found in the small bag, zipping it up and slinging it around her shoulders. It was a bit tight, since it was a child's backpack, but she couldn't complain about it.

"Hey, don't you find it odd that the crying stopped? After Hinata took out those Freaks, they stopped all together." Nick noted. That was something Hinata found rather odd. He tightened his grip on his gun, looking around the room.

"If there's anyone here, make yourselves know now, or else we'll leave you here on your own!" he cried out.

" _Please no! I don't wanna be alone!"_

The voice was muffled, like it had come from a closet or something similar. It also sounded rather young, and in distress. He looked around, walking forward, spotting a door on the far left side of the warehouse, a few meters from where the Westershire couple had been taken down. Was this the door they had been banging before? He saw a large crate had been pushed in front of it, blocking half of it, preventing it from opening fully. He set his gun on top of it, and pushed the crate with all of his strength, quickly grabbing his gun and aiming it at the door.

"Come out slowly, hands in the air!" he said.

"Dude, do you have to be so firm?" Nick asked.

"Of course he does, they could be bitten, or worse, some serial rapist." Saya replied.

"They sound like a little girl." Nick deadpanned. The door slowly opened, and they subconsciously tightened the grip on their shotguns. Hinata's eyes widened a bit, as he saw the little girl that had been hiding within the closet.

She had long crimson hair, reaching down past her waist tied up into twin tails with black ribbons. She had bright blue eyes, soaked with fresh tears, her light colored skin was covered in dirt and grime, and specks of blood, the tear stains running down to her chin. She was wearing a blue shirt, with a long black shirt underneath it, the tee shirt had a kitten on it, with purple sequins. She was wearing a pair of blue shorts, which reached to about mid thigh, pale pink leggings stretched over her legs, stuffed into a pair of brown laced boots. The leggings had been torn at the knee, and had a bit of blood on them, most likely from her falling down at some point. He did notice a band aid placed on her right cheek. Her hands were high in the air, a look of fear on her face.

"Please Mister, I didn't do anything wrong!" she cried out, tears falling from her eyes. Hinata looked back at his friends, who shared the same look on their face. He lowered his rifle, flicking the safety on.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were a Freak...I had to be careful." he said.

"Freak? Is that what you call the Murder Syndrome victims?" the little girl asked. He gave her a nod, looking at the floor where the bodies of her parents lay. She followed his gaze, her breath hitching a bit. She knelt down before them, taking their hands in her own.

"Momma, Papa." she said, breaking into tears. Hinata had been surprised, hearing this girl's near perfect Japanese, though it did have an English accent to it, as expected since the girl was from Great Britain. He figured she must have taken formal courses in the language, either from pure interest or because her parents thought it would be good for her to know it, he would never know. He knelt down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry this happened to them. They looked like good people, who didn't deserve this." he said.

"They were trying to save people, this group was being lead by them. My daddy was in the Special Forces back in London, we took a trip to Japan for my eleventh birthday when all of this happened. Why did it have to be them?" she asked softly. Hinata now understood where the shell casings came from.

"I don't know...but we've all lost people close to us these last few days. He died a hero, he tried saving all of this people, you included, so his death wasn't in vain. You can come with us, I'll keep you safe. My name is Hinata, these are my friends Nick and Saya, what's your name sweetie?" he asked. She wiped her tears away with her sleeve, looking up at the older teen.

"Savannah Westershire. It's nice to meet you Mr. Hinata. You too Mr. Nick, and Miss Saya." she said, being quite polite.

"Another kid, how joyous." Saya muttered dryly. Hinata rolled his eyes, standing up, he slung his rifle across his shoulder, making sure it didn't interfere with his backpack.

"So now what? We still have to reach Saya's place, and we'll be in more danger with this kid around." Nick said.

"Hey, I am not just a kid you sod, I happen to be quite adept at several things." the girl snapped, making Hinata chuckle.

"She's got spunk. I think she'll be just fine." Hinata said. The girl let go of her parents hands, taking her mother's wallet, shoving it in her back pocket. She walked back into the closet, emerging a second later with a handgun. She handed it to Hinata who looked it over.

It was a Smith and Wesson 1911 ACP. It had a wooden handle grip, with a black slide and chrome colored trigger guard. He looked it over, seeing the familiar S and W crest laser etched in all Smith and Wesson handguns. He pressed the magazine release, seeing it was still fully loaded, fifteen fat .45 ACP rounds, bronze in color. He looked at her, brow furrowed.

"My papa gave me that after he had gotten bit. He didn't want me to become one of them, he and momma pushed that crate in front of the door and told me to leave when I didn't hear any sounds, but they heard my crying and kept banging the door. I couldn't kill them." she said.

"Man, I wasn't aware people could just come into the country with guns of that caliber." Nick said, looking closely at the gun in Hinata's hand.

"If they are Special Forces, then yes they can keep their guns, although this might be a little powerful for a girl your age. Do you have anymore magazines?" he asked. She nodded, holding out a black fanny pack to him. He looked inside, seeing a nice amount inside, around seventeen or so, all holding fifteen rounds.

"Well, we can't have her go out without a weapon, did your father give you training with handguns?" Saya asked curiously.

"Yes, he gave me training with various guns, but I never fired his Smith and Wesson, he said it was too powerful for me. I have fired a Beretta before, and I didn't have too much trouble with it." she admitted. Hinata nodded and drew his Beretta M9 from his belt, checking it over. He handed it to the girl, who took it into her hands. It was a little big for her, he admitted, but if she had the training, he didn't doubt she couldn't use it. He had given Saya his spare .38 special with all of the ammunition, so he placed the .45 in the holster. Emptying out the fanny pack, he replaced all of the magazines with the M9 magazines and placed it around the little girl's waist, fastening it tightly so that it didn't move.

"We're gonna go outside, my friend Saya's house isn't that far from this place, but we have to be careful, don't shoot unless you absolutely have too." he said.

"Okay." she said quietly, checking her gun over. She checked the magazine as well, before snapping it back into place, pulling the slide back. Nick frowned, watching as she checked her weapon over.

"Kids shouldn't be put through this." he muttered. Saya agreed with him silently, but the world had changed, and if kids had to carry guns for protection, she couldn't do anything about it. Hinata wondered over to the door and slowly opened it, doing a quick sweep of the alleyway. Giving a nod, all four of them moved outside, the rain hadn't let up much, the drizzle turning into a light rain. They moved down the alley way, avoiding the flaming barrels that had been placed at every corner.

He stopped next to a Police car, seeing the bright red and blue lights flashing through the area. He wanted to check it for supplies, but once he saw the doors and trunk open, decided against it, it had already been picked clean, and seeing the deceased police officers on the ground really didn't make him feel better. They moved toward the street, the rest of the alley being blocked by fallen debris and flaming cars. He looked to his left, seeing a large wire fence towering over large cement barriers, effectively blocking that entire street. It had been the reason why they had taken the alleyway in the first place.

"You have to wonder how the cops were able to set this up during this shit storm." Nick said.

"It isn't hard, I'm willing to bet I know the person responsible for this. Whatever the case, this complicates things for us. I can't see my house at all, and I feel like we are getting farther from it. I can't see the bridge anymore either...what a fucking mess." Saya said.

"Let's just keep going forward, maybe we'll find a way around it." Hinata said, scanning the street with his rifle. There had been a medical trailer placed not far from where they stood, blocking the path into the next street, making them go down the one they were currently on. It was surprisingly empty, the only light coming from the light posts and the traffic signals, which kept changing color at their normal intervals. The silence was something that was bothering Hinata quite a lot.

"Do you...find it odd that this street is empty?" Savannah's accented voice asked, making the older teen look at her. She had been aiming her gun downward, the green sights glowing a bit.

"I do, normally _they_ would be everywhere. At least they were earlier, but now, it's deathly quiet." Saya muttered.

"Guys, at least we can relax a bit. It's not like a horde is going to come running at us right?" Nick asked, kicking a little pebble down the street. It bounced for a few seconds, hitting the side of a car, activating it's alarm. It rung out through the empty street, echoing off the buildings. Saya glared at him, almost wanting to hit him.

"You goddamn idiot! Why the fuck did you have to do that?"

"How was I supposed to know it's alarm was still active?" he howled back, grip tightening on his shotgun. Groans filled their ears, as each of them looked around, seeing the horde of Freaks heading toward them, and while normally Hinata wouldn't be too alarmed due to their slowness when moving, this time it was different.

The Freaks weren't shambling toward them, they were _running_ at them. Full blown running. None of them could believe what was happening, but there they were in the middle of an intersection seeing it all happening. It went slow motion for Hinata, as he tried to figure out what to do.

"Run or shoot?" Nick asked, cocking his shotgun, Saya doing the same. Savannah let out a whimper, her grip on the M9 tightening.

"Uh." he uttered, unable to think clearly.

"Run or Shoot?!" Nick asked, this time more forceful. Hinata looked at him, giving him a firm nod.

"Both!"

They moved toward a nearby alleyway, opening fire on the crowd of undead Freaks, bodies dropping with every one. Nick was firing his shotgun one armed, somehow not being bothered by it's kickback, while Saya was loading shells into hers, dropping a few as she ran. Savannah shot a couple rounds when she had the chance but otherwise kept running. She looked up, eyes widening.  
"Quick, get to the roof." she said, pointing to the fire escape, that had it's ladder down. She was the first to jump to it, quickly climbing up.

"Go, Go, Go!" Nick exclaimed, stopping next to Hinata, who had switched to his three round burst mode, and kept mowing down the crowd. There wasn't an end to them, they just kept running. At this rate, they were never going to make it. A loud shotgun blast came down from above them, Saya had been on the upper span, aiming her gun at the crowd.

"Go! I'll hold them off."

Nick nodded and slung his gun, deciding to go first, while Hinata covered him. His gun clicked empty and he dropped the magazine, not caring if he dropped it on the ground, he slammed a new one into the receiver, pulling the slide back hard, tapping the side. He grit his teeth, pulling out his last remaining grenade. Pulling the pin, he threw it at the crowd, turning on his heel, jumping at the stairwell. The grenade exploded, sending body parts and building fragments everywhere, a large piece of rock ended up slamming into the fire escape, almost crushing Nick and Hinata as they made their way up, the twisted metal being pulled from the wall. Saya had tossed her shotgun over the edge, letting off several rounds from her .38 special, replacing the spent rounds with speed and precision Hinata didn't think she had. He ran up the steps, the creaking metal started moving from the weight of the Freaks that had started to climb it. He was still in awe, unable to comprehend what was going on. He ran past Saya, who was still shooting her gun at them. He made it over the edge of the building, tossing his rifle aside. Saya's gun flicked empty, and turned around, only for the top of the fire escape to come lose. She slammed into the railing, crying in pain, a Freak almost biting her arm. It's head blew clean off its shoulders, thanks to Nick's quick effort. The span finally gave way, falling from the building. Saya somehow managed to run toward the edge, jumping off the railing.

"Hinata!" she cried loudly, the teenager snapped his arm over the edge, grabbing her's before she fell to the ground. The fire escape tumbled to the ground, becoming nothing more than a shredded pile of twisted metal, the bodies of the Freaks still underneath it, several being stabbed by the sharp metal sticking up. It seemed as if their path had been effectively blocked for the time being. Hinata pulled the girl up over the edge, wrapping his arms around her body, both of them falling to the ground, panting heavily. Saya blinked a couple times, a blush appearing on her face, only for her to huff and stand up, pushing Hinata away.

"Holy shit we made, I can't believe we made it!" Nick cried, cheering loudly.

"We just crossed the street asswipe! Let's not throw a party until we're at the Estate!" Saya snapped, grabbing her discarded shotgun. She walked further onto the roof of the building. It seemed as if someone had been holed up there. There was a large white table, with a blue tarp serving as a makeshift roof. Empty food cans lay around the table, a white S.O.S being painted onto the ground.

"Jeez, you just had to say run didn't you?" Hinata asked, glaring at Nick who held his hands up.

"Let's not fight right now everyone. Our situation is bleak but, at least we're alive right?" Savannah said, being optimistic. For a girl who had just lost her parents, Hinata was surprised to see her being like that. He shook his head, sweeping his soaking wet hair to the side, grabbing his rifle. He walked over to the edge of the building, the arms used to hold the fire escape were still in place, but the structure had fallen, breaking apart the wall around it. The Freaks on the other side seemed to loose interest in them. Just what had made them run like that? Was it that green stuff coming from the dead bodies? Were they changing already? It was only day four, something that monumental couldn't have happened, then again, he had discovered their sense of smell had been intact. He just hoped running Freaks didn't become commonplace in this hellhole of a world. He looked ahead, seeing the back alley was clear of debris and Freaks, he nodded to himself.

"Alright, it seems as if the alleyway is clear past the fire escape, there should be a door leading out of this complex, we'll be able to get street side from there." he said.

"Yeah, and then what? I don't know where the hell we are." Nick said.

"But I do, this seems like a residential area, filled with apartments...what the hell was it called again? Tokunosu Heights I think it was?" Saya said. Hinata pulled the map he had salvaged from Savannah's father and walked over to the table, laying it flat on it. He scanned it for a few second, finding Tokunosu Heights on the map.

"Okay, then we're around here, the jewelry store is here, and that park we passed by earlier is over here, that means our original starting point, where that wire was is over here in the Lower Tokunosu Prefecture." Hinata said.

"My house is right here, on Tokunosu Hill, surrounded by large iron fences, if we're lucky, my father already had the entrances to these streets blocked entirely. We can take East 34th street all the way straight, but something tells me it won't be that easy." Saya said, glancing at the map.

"Uh guys, the streets over here are blocked with those cement barriers, it seems we can only head in one direction, this street that curves in that direction." Nick said, pointing ahead of them. Saya looked over the edge on the other side of the building, humming to herself. In the distance, she saw thick bright lights, slowly moving across the sky. She saw the top of the building, a smile on her face.

"I know where we are now. We're twenty minutes away from Mercy Hospital, the largest general hospital in Tokunosu. My house is five minutes from there. We can hotwire an ambulance and take it all the way there." Saya said.

"Are you insane? I've had enough of stealing cars with alarms." Nick said, remembering the fire truck he and his friends had hitched a ride on back in Tokunosu West Academy.

"It's a solid plan, better than anything I can come up with right now. Since this street is our only option at the moment, we'll have to keep going on it until we find another open street." Hinata said, earning a nod from Saya.

"Hey...do you think the subway trains are still active?" Nick asked curiously.

"Definitely, why don't we take one to the airport and fly to Tahiti?" Saya asked sarcastically, earning a huff from the teen.

"I mean, we can go to the subway station and follow the train tunnels until we reach the hospital. I remember there being a subway station two blocks from it, and it would be better than walking out on the street in the rain. Plus, I doubt any Freaks have made their way into the stations, seeing as those would most likely be closed off from civilians." He said.

"It's not a bad idea Mr. Nick, we passed through a train station before my papa and momma started helping people, and it was relatively empty." Savannah said, adding her two cents. Hinata nodded, a smile on his face.

"Then we're all in agreement. Let's have a snack and head out in five." he said, setting his backpack down on the table. He pulled out a couple packs of crackers and some power bars from within, along with some water bottles, handing them off to his friends. Placing it back on, he grabbed his rifle and the map off the table and walked toward the edge of the building, deciding to keep a look out for everything.

"Hey Miss Saya, how long have you and Mr. Hinata known each other?" Savannah asked the older girl, seeing as Nick was too busy eating his snack to talk to him. The speckled girl looked down at her, taking her glasses off briefly to wipe the water droplets off them.

"I've known him for a long time, since we were little. However, after fifth grade, we ended up transferring schools, he went off to Tokunosu Middle School, and I went to A Private Academy. We hadn't spoken for a few years, until literally yesterday in fact." she said. Savannah giggled, taking a bite from her power bar.

"Does that mean you missed him when he was gone?" she asked.

"Hardly, we didn't get along then, doubt we get along now." Saya replied.

"But you were blushing after he pulled you over the edge. Weren't you happy to be on top of him? Papa and Momma usually did that too, and started laughing whenever they were alone." she said. Saya's eyes widened a bit.

" _Jesus Christ, did this little girl actually see her parents doing the deed? Oh my god!"_ she exclaimed in her head. She put her glasses back on, them shielding her widened eyes.

"I uh...don't know what you are talking about, and you shouldn't talk about those things like that." She said.

"You mean sex? It's alright, my momma talked to me about it, she always kept snogging papa, so I just wanted to know when you and Mr. Hinata we're going to start doing that? Or do you prefer Mr. Nick?"

"Hinata, take care of this runt, she's annoying the hell out of me." Saya called out, causing the black haired teen to turn around, a half eaten power bar still in his mouth. Savannah giggled, running off toward the older teen. Saya crossed her arms, muttering things under her breath, Nick's chuckles making their way to her ears. She turned to glare at him, but that only seemed to make him laugh harder.

It wasn't long before all four of them we're ready to move on. Hinata had walked over to the roof access door, seeing it had been boarded shut. Thankfully he still had his crowbar with him, so between him and Nick, they were able to pry the boards off the wall, slowly opening the door that lead down into the apartment complex. They walked into an empty hallway, that had been blocked with what looked to be three refrigerators and a washing machine, and immediately turned into an open apartment walking inside. It was a fairly simple home, leather couches, flat screen television, and everything in between, a few bodies littered the ground, filling up the small house with the scent of death. They quickly walked to the front entrance, making their way down the empty hall, down the stairs into another empty apartment, the stairwell being blocked with a vending machine.

"Man, the ones living here really thought everything through hadn't they?" Nick muttered, glancing around the apartments.

"Yeah, probably didn't know it transferred by bite though, and that's why they all died." Saya replied.

"Um...this may be a bad time but, I have to go to the bathroom." Savannah said, causing all three teenagers to stop. Hinata looked at her, lowering his rifle.

"Can't you hold it a little longer?" He asked.

"No." she said. He sighed, looking toward his friends.

"Nick, watch the front, Saya watch the back, see anything shoot it. These walls will make the sound bounce everywhere so they shouldn't be able to find us so easily. Come on Savannah." he said, leading the girl down the hall. He did a brief sweep of all the rooms, quickly finding the bathroom. The girl walked inside, locking the door after herself. Hinata leaned against the wall, eyeing one of the paintings that had been hung on the wall.

He didn't know how to describe it. It had several hues of red and blue, intermingling with a light purple. It even had a light green tint at the corners, with a few splotches of orange to brighten it up. The thing that was odd about it though was the cat face that was in the center of it, a Siamese cat, to be precise. He didn't know why, but he liked it. He reached for it, pulling it from the wall. It wasn't that big, around the size of an actual portrait. He opened his bag and stuffed it inside, zipping it closed right after, almost a second later, Savannah came from inside the bathroom, the sound of the toilet echoing through the house.

"Did you wash your hands?" he asked.

"Whatever for? There's zombies running about, I doubt my dirty hands will be an issue." she said firmly. He shrugged, leading her back to the front of the house.

"Anyone else need to take a piss break?" he asked his friends, getting silent head shakes as his reply. They moved out of the apartments, once again scanning the hallways. He heard the sound of an alarm clock, and paused for a second, following the sound.

"What are you doing?" Saya asked curiously. Hinata found the clock and yanked it from the wall, wrapping the cord around it, stuffing it in his backpack.

"I have an idea that involves using spare parts from that alarm clock. We're about to head outside, remember to stay quiet." he said, opening the exit doors, stepping out into the alleyway. He switched weapons, shouldering his rifle and pulling out the Smith and Wesson .45 ACP. He had to admit, it was slightly heavier than the .38 special, but not as much as the AR-15. He pulled the slide back making sure there was a round in the chamber before walking down the alleyway. Finding their way to the street, he noticed the barriers had effectively blocked out all of the other streets in the area, meaning the entire area had most likely been a hub for survivors, one that ended up falling early that morning or the night before.

"The subway station is this way, come on." Nick said, taking the lead.

"Don't do anything stupid, we don't need another horde on us." Saya said.

"Pfft, what's the worse that can happen?" Nick said, turning the corner. He let out a gasp, back peddling as several infected turned in his direction. Their groans echoed in their ears, as they shambled toward them. Hinata was relieved that it hadn't been the running kind, but still a bit alarmed to see this many in one area. He noticed the barrier two blocks down the road, the train station being almost next to it, and instantly knew they had once been survivors of the lost camp. He placed his finger on the trigger, pulling it hard. The kickback was a little rougher than he expected, and he had nailed the Freak on the shoulder. He shifted his barrel a bit, blowing it's brains out the second time.

"Quick, let's make our way to the station." he said, slowly moving toward the subway station's entrance, not taking his eyes off any of the Freaks in front of him. Nick let out a few rounds from his shotgun, pausing to reload after firing his second time, though thankfully he had taken down several Freaks with those two rounds. Saya and Savannah headed down the stairs into the subway station, stopping in their tracks when they saw some more Freaks. They didn't hesitate to open fire, trying to clear the room out as much as possible. Hinata came down seconds later, Nick trailing after him. He replaced a spent magazine and looked up to the top of the stairs, seeing a few Freaks had followed them. He shot one in the bottom jaw, sending blood and teeth in all directions, shifting his aim, he fired a second round at what was once a young woman, her body fell down, rolling down the stairs.

"We're all clear." Saya said, making the teen turn around. He sped through all of the fallen bodies, heading into the back room, which had a thick red metal door on it. Once he was inside, Nick closed the door, pushing a large white table in front of it, effectively blocking it. Hinata pushed a filing cabinet behind the table, with Saya placing a large leather chair next to the cabinet. They all let out a sigh, dropping to the floor.

"Alright, that too more out of me then the run up the fire escape." Nick said.

"That was nothing..what lies ahead will be much, much worse. We can't wait here any longer, we'll rest for ten and then head out. Search for supplies." Saya said.

"Already on it Miss Saya. I found this bottle of pills in the bathroom, Ibuprofen I think." Savannah said, handing her a large white bottle of pills. She looked it over, ruffling the girl's hair.

"Good job, without you we'd be a lost cause." she said.

"Hey, what about us? We're the ones kicking ass here." Nick said, loading more shells into his gun. Saya chuckled, shaking her head.

"You have almost gotten us killed, _twice_. I think you should let Hinata lead from now on, before you end up killing all of us." She said.

"That's a little harsh Saya, it was just a mistake. Anyone of us could have made it." Hinata said firmly. She remained silent, looking toward the other end of the room.

"Whatever." she said simply. She started looking around the room for anything useful, not really finding anything of interest. Hinata sighed, shaking his head a bit, the water in his hair rolling down his neck. He was starting to wonder when he would be able to get a full night's sleep. He was starting to miss his old life, but he couldn't complain about it. He had people to protect, and he wasn't about to die on them, not now, and not ever.


	7. No Mercy: The Subway & Sewers

**A/N: So my computer is currently having technical issues, I don't know if it's due to some wiring or if the screen is messed up but the fact of the matter is that it is messed up, so for the first time ever, I am going to do a massive post and finish posting the last chapters of Those Who Walk Among the Dead, that will include Chapters 7-15 and this will most likely be my last Authors Note for this Story, so I hope you enjoy them all, also I will not be editing any errors, just to save time before this thing dies forever.**

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 7

 _No Mercy for the Dead_

 _The Subway Station & Sewers_

Fifteen minutes had passed, it was around ten at night now, and Hinata found himself inside an office at the back of the East 34th street Subway station. The lights inside were dimmed down a bit, whether that was because of a loss of power or due to another reason, he didn't know, but what he did know was that the was tired and annoyed. He had been stabbing the bayonet he borrowed from his cousin onto the desk he had been sitting at, leaving small holes on the surface. He had already etched his name into it, akin to the ones he left on various school desks back in Tokunosu West Academy.

Saya had also been rather silent, still looking at the map he had salvaged back in the warehouse. Savannah had fallen asleep next to Nick, who was looking out the holes on the other metal door. The bright orange flames coming from the flaming engine of a car could be seen through them. Hinata had peeked outside, seeing the destroyed station below them, somehow a car had slammed through the brick wall and lodged itself inside, its engine had burst into flames, providing them with light beyond the door. Past the fallen debris, was the entrance to the subway station, the escalators barely visible from where they were.

Looking around, Hinata had seen the writing on the brick walls, left behind by other survivors. All of them were encouraging messages, some telling their family members to head to the evacuation station being mounted at Mercy Hospital, while others were saying stupid things, like the fact that they missed the internet, and at one point, the number of a very well known prostitute, who had supposedly turned into a Freak. He had chuckled at that one but had held it back when he noticed Savannah was asleep.

He didn't know how to feel about the little girl. She was quick with a gun, and very smart for her age. He could see the bravery she was putting on was a front, her true emotions being clear in her eyes. She was scared, scared about dying, scared about turning into one of them. She had seen her deceased parents and had readily accepted it, but he was sure she was holding it all back, and once they were in a relatively safe location, she would break down entirely.

"Do you think things will ever go back to normal?" Nick suddenly asked, gaining the attention of his friends. Savannah stirred a bit but didn't wake. Saya blinked a few times, standing up straight.

"Who knows? Maybe these things will die out, sadly that can't be said either, it's only been four days and these things are already changing. For all we know, there might never be an end to them, not as long as we're still alive." she replied, her voice sounding calm and firm.

"Jeez, you could have lied to me and said everything would be fine."

"What good would that do? Living in a false reality will get you killed, I've grown rather fond of this one. I miss my old one sure, but there is a certain enjoyment I get from taking down these undead fucks. I don't get bullied anymore at least." Hinata said, hugging his rifle close to him.

"Heh, at least one of us accepted it. The status quo hasn't changed for me at all...I was abandoned by my parents, people who should have cared about their daughter's safety first hand, totally ignore her and focus on securing the city. Typical Takagi behavior." Saya said, crossing her arms firmly.

"Saya, don't be like that...I'm sure your parents did everything they could to come get you. This virus hit hard, may be they figured you would be fine on your own." Nick said.

"Or they thought she was dead. You haven't met her parents man, their total Right Wing nationalists. Her father alone can strike fear into a crowd of hardened soldiers, and even now that I haven't spoken to him in years, he still scares the shit out of me. If he didn't send rescue for Saya at her school, then that means he accepted her potential death without remorse and carried on like it was a normal business day. That fact alone should speak volumes about who they truly are, though I don't doubt that they do care about their daughter." Hinata replied.

"At least someone understands." Saya muttered. Hinata stood up from his seat on the desk and sheathed his bayonet, stretching his tired limbs. He grabbed his backpack, slinging it across his shoulder.

"It's time to move on. I've been thinking about this office for awhile and the fact it has reinforced doors. It lead me to believe this was an S.A.T stronghold at some point, and those messages on the walls talk about evac from Mercy Hospital, that means everyone who has passed through here is heading there as well. There might not be any ambulances left to take, so we'll have to come up with a back up plan by the time we get there."

"Alright, I'll wake up Savannah and get her ready to go." Nick said, standing up from his seat. Hinata walked toward the other door, peeking through the bars. He looked around for a few seconds, not finding an immediate threat.

"Hey Hinata, do you think that evacuation station is still active?" Saya asked curiously. He gave her a shrug, eyes still focused on the station below them.

"I didn't see any rescue choppers anywhere. The skies were deathly silent, and if it was still active where would they take survivors? The Airport is most likely lost at this point, seeing as there aren't any planes taking off anymore. Let's face it, all traffic is dead coming in and out of the city, we're utterly fucked from every which way possible." he replied.

"I know that might be a possibility, but if they are still active, perhaps we should leave with them. Go to my house and grab our friends, get out of Tokunosu before it gets worse...I don't want to stay at my house more than I should." She said firmly. The wind was blowing a bit harder now, the rain having picked up significantly. It was cold and the rain wasn't helping them any.

"I get it, your parents aren't the ideal people to be with due to their arrogance, but trust me, it's good to at least go see them, make peace with them or whatever. That way, when it comes time to go, you'll be able to leave with no regrets. Besides, I can't afford to leave Tokunosu, not without making sure my mom, aunt and uncle are alright." he said firmly.

"Then I'll go with you. It's the least I can do, after saving me back there." She said, a slight blush on her cheeks. He smirked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"As far as I can tell, that was actually the second time today I saved you."

"Oh don't give me that shit, I already agreed to go with you I am not agreeing to something else. Come on, the runt is already up anyway." she said, grabbing her shotgun from beside the door. He looked over to Savannah who was rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, a blank look on her face. He frowned a bit, turning to the door, pulling the safety bar from it. He opened it slowly, stepping out into what would have been a hallway. He walked past the car, seeing the ground below him had broken apart and fallen down to the ground floor, the roof had caved in at some parts, letting some wind and rain into the building. The swirling mass of clouds only seemed to get worse, which instill a sense of urgency in him. He grabbed his rifle, flicking the flashlight on, looking back at his friends.

"I'll go first, my gun is silenced so I'll be able to take out any Freaks that are hanging around." he said.

"Be careful Mr. Hinata." Savannah said, worry etched on her face. He smiled, ruffling her hair, giving her a silent nod of agreement, before tightening his hold on his rifle. It was a three meter drop or so, right onto concrete slabs. He lowered himself down, his boots hitting the ground with a soft clack. He scanned the area with his flashlight, spotting several Freaks underneath the building. It was odd to find them down there, especially since the building had been held up with concrete support beams which looked like they would give at any moment. Seven soft pops later and the bodies of the deceased dropped, no longer causing a threat. He shouldered his rifle, and gestured for Saya and Nick to lower Savannah to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, softly setting her down. Nick lowered Saya down next, jumping down afterwards.

"Alright, which line will take us to the hospital?" Hinata asked quietly. Now that they were underground, their voices and gunshots would echo, attracting more Freaks to them, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Red line North, I believe. Maybe we should grab a train schedule or something." Saya said. He nodded, and started walking ahead, keeping his rifle raised in case he had to fire. The need arose when they turned the corner and saw several Freaks hanging around the top of the stairs. He took down the first one, gritting his teeth when the body slammed into the side of the escalator. All of the ones around it turned around and started walking in that direction, effectively blocking their path. He slung his rifle and pulled his bayonet.

"It'll be a waste of ammo if we start now, let's go melee." he said.

"Stay close to me Savannah, let Nick and Hinata take care of it." Saya whispered, earning a fearful nod from the young redhead. Hinata grabbed the nearest Freak, stabbing the bayonet through its left eye, he softly set the body down, taking down another one. Nick was slamming the butt of his shotgun into the nearby ones, making sure not to make too much noise. Getting an idea, he walked to the nearest escalator and kicked one of the Freaks as hard as he could, sending it tumbling down. The other Freaks instantly followed the sound, most of them tripping down the steps as they slowly descended them.

"Nice Job, let's try to sneak past them." Hinata muttered. Nick nodded, allowing the girl's to go ahead of him so that he could cover the rear. They made it down into the subway station, hopping over the ticket gates, which at least blocked them from entering.

Past those gates though, it was total hell. The entire platform had been smeared with blood, several dead bodies laying all over the place, men, women and children alike, all strung up to the walls, looks of fear on their faces, just before their lives came to an end. A subway train had slammed straight through the wall, blocking the Red Line South entrance entirely. There was a table near what looked like a ticket booth, the glass was shattered in places, and a severed arm was sticking through it. Savannah's hand flew to her mouth as she was trying her hardest not to vomit. Saya held her hand over her eyes, trying to block the grim sight from her. Hinata walked over to the table, seeing a small stack of ammunition on it, shotgun shells and rifle rounds, thankfully in the caliber that he had been using. He tossed the boxes of shells to Nick, taking the rifle ammunition for himself. He also found some 9mm ammunition, which he gave to Saya and Savannah.

"What happened here?" the little girl asked, finally getting over her sickness. Hinata shrugged looking around.

"Survivor camp, most likely. These gates were closed, this leads me to believe that the Freaks that came through here were the ones in that subway train. Let's move on, we'll have to take the Red Line North to get out of here." he replied, moving toward the stairs leading up to the next platform.

It wasn't any better than the one downstairs. The entire rail had been blocked by two subway trains, which had crashed right into each other, the cars having jumped the rail. Blood had been smeared all over the floor, large barrels had been placed at either end of the platform, large flames towering from them, singing the ceiling above them. Nick and Hinata took down the Freaks that had been in the area, giving them a little peace of mind. They had been entirely blocked, meaning they would have to go through the train cars to get onto the rail. Hinata stabbed his bayonet into the sliding doors, twisting hard until he was able to make a gap big enough for his fingers to fit through. With Nick's help, the doors had been pried open.

"You can't be seriously thinking of walking through this train. What if it's full of them?" Saya asked.

"We shoot them, not many options we can take. The street is blocked and the south tunnel is blocked as well, realistically, this is the only way to go." Nick said firmly, with seriousness she didn't know he had.

"It'll be okay Miss Saya. Mr. Nick and Mr. Hinata will keep us safe!" Savannah reassured. The pinkette sighed, agreeing with the little redhead. It wasn't that she was being a pessimist or anything, far from it, she just didn't think they should be walking through a destroyed train car. Regardless, they made their way in.

"Heh, normally these things would be filled to the brim with people. Can't say it's a welcome sight to see it empty." Nick said, ignoring the bodies propped up on the seats.

"There was this one time, when I was heading home for break and I was forced to stand by some really douchy guys. Like, they were jocks, football team douche bags that thought it would be funny to pick on the weak. This girl, she was around thirteen or fourteen, tried to hang onto the pole next to them, and they would stop wolf whistling, pinching her ass, making all these comments, it really drove me nuts. Finally, I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the other side of the train car. She thanked me so many times, just because I pulled her out of that situation, she was a really sweet girl." Hinata said.

"What was her name Mr. Hinata?" Savannah asked curiously.

"Her name was Esthia Kasuragi, and for three years after that, she was my girlfriend, we had everything in common, laziness, general dislike of school, love of video games, we were always together, and were really into each other, up until our second year of high school, we just drifted apart, and eventually broke up, on good terms of course, but I still miss her sometimes. Apparently, she said I would get sucked into a video game one day, from how much I played them, can't say I saw a Zombie Apocalypse coming though, she's probably having a ball, if she's alive that is." he replied with a shrug.

They reached the end of the train and were forced to leave it, through an emergency door. They had walked all the way down to the next station, another subway train had slammed into the one they had been in, causing all of the trains to jump off the rail, blocking their exit. Hinata walked over to the edge of the platform and pulled himself up, holding his arm out for Nick to take. Once they were both up, it was a cinch to pull the two girls onto the platform. Another flaming barrel had been their light source. The stairwell had been effectively blocked, the area around it had been cracked, and large slabs of concrete had been used to seal it off. Hinata figured someone must have used an explosive in order to do that. Spotting a large hole in the wall, he lead his friends toward it, weapons at the ready just in case.

On the other side of the hole was nothing but darkness, and they were all thankful for their flashlights. They walked in silence for the most part, not wanting to bring unwanted attention to themselves. Finally, after five minutes they made it to the other side of the small tunnel, appearing at another station, this one being clear of train cars.

"Alright, there should be an access door up ahead, that will lead us toward the power station used to keep these trains running. If we're lucky, they'll be a door that leads to the streets." Hinata said.

"And if there isn't?" Nick asked.

"We make one!" Saya replied, a smirk on her face. Nick really didn't like that look.

They jumped down to where the rails were, walking forward into the train tunnel. Several Freaks had been shambling around, but they had decided to avoid them entirely. Hinata didn't feel like wasting ammunition, and if they could avoid them entirely, then it would be better for all of them in the end. The tunnel opened up into a larger station of sorts, where four railways connected into a single one, most likely the lines leading to other parts of Tokunosu and even out of the city. They walked along, finding another subway train blocking their path, with no where to go, they decided to walk through it, taking out a couple Freaks that had been walking around inside. This one seemed to be the end of another train as it had just been three cars. They hopped out the other end, seeing the entrance to the next tunnel had been blocked by a cave in. Hinata looked around, spotting a door to his left, leading up to a stairwell.

"This way." he said, jumping up to it. He helped friends up, leading them toward the metal steps.

"Do you think Takashi and the others are alright? It's been several hours by now." Hinata said, glancing back at Saya. She smirked, shaking her head.

"If anyone is going to make it out of this alive, it's Takashi. I have no doubt Rei and Kohta will make it either, and Saeko will keep them safe. I'm more worried about your other friends." She said.

"Nozomi has what it takes to survive, she's been clinging onto me these last few days, hopefully this little separation is enough to instill the will to survive without me in this new world. Melanie...I don't know about her, if there's someone there to call her pretty, she'll fight, as conceited as that sounds." Hinata said.

"How did you even meet such a conceited girl? You know when were at Rika's she wouldn't stop asking Nozomi if you two were together? It leads me to think that she might have a thing for you...or her."

"Ha! That's a laugh, Melanie having a crush on me or Nozomi, clearly you haven't met her. She's nothing but a cruel bitch, who will stop at nothing to destroy those around her. For three years she did nothing but put me through hell, but I'm too much of a nice person to let her die. Thankfully, Hide, Tate and Serena aren't around her, or else she would be even worse than she is now." he admitted. Reaching the top of the stairs, they were lead into another empty room, surrounded by nothing, other than support beams and dead bodies. Shell casings could be seen throughout the room, leading up toward another hallway. The hurried over to it, finding another stairwell leading into a large machine room. Several wooden tables had been placed around the door, almost like a barricade of sorts, the door being their means of escape. The large glass windows had been effectively blocked, preventing the Freaks from going into the room that way. Hinata spotted a few beer bottles on one of the tables, white rags sticking out of them.

"Are these...Molotov cocktails?" Nick asked, reaching for one of the bottles.

"Seems so, this looks like a military stand point, look at all the shells, and the bullet holes on these machines. There was a stand off here, meaning there has to be an exit. Let's split up and search for it. Savannah, I want you to stay with me, Saya you're with Nick." Hinata said. The pinkette sighed, but gave him a nod as she and Nick hopped over the barrier, snagging two of the cocktails for themselves in case they needed them, thankfully Saya had salvaged a lighter from Rika's house. He and Savannah took the right side, and walked over toward the locker room that had been on the far right. Mounted in front of it was a sleek black MK93 mounted machine gun, aimed at the large machines that took up most of the room. He didn't know what it was doing there, but from all of the bullet holes, he had the right idea. Next to it were three large boxes, filled to the brim with fifty caliber chain links, one of them was still loaded into it and had been bunched on the floor into a neat pile.

"That's a big gun." Savannah said, looking closely at it.

"Yes it is...something tells me whoever came through here used this for crowd control." he muttered, cringing a bit at the large gun. Those bullets were rather big, enough to tear holes through the human body, most likely one of the reasons why they had risked bringing a heavy gun like that with them. Savannah kept looking around the room, finding a big red box attached to the far wall. Walking to it, she carefully opened it, finding a first aid kit inside. She smiled and grabbed it, running back to Hinata.

"Look Mr. Hinata, I found a first aid kit!" she said happily. He smiled, patting her head.

"Good girl, that will be your kit when we find you a backpack, for now I'll hang onto it for you." he said, placing it in his own pack. Saya and Nick walked back to where the two were, ignoring the big gun mounted beside them.

"Looks like the only exit is through that metal door over there, but by the looks of it, as soon as we activate it, it'll make a racket. We'll have to defend ourselves until it can open enough for us to get through." Saya said firmly.

"I was afraid of that, thankfully, we have this bad boy to help us. Nick, you are familiar with this type of weapon yes?" Hinata asked.

"Course, my dad used these all the time when he was on leave. The MK93 mounted machine gun, capable of firing a thousand rounds a minute. All of these strips are fifty caliber, the red ones are tracer rounds and the black ones are incendiary, though if we are going to use it, I suggest the tracers, we wouldn't want flaming Freaks would we?" he asked.

"I don't really know how to use it, so I guess you'll be in charge of it until we can get away from here. Me and Savannah will wait by the switch to the door, Saya I want you to provide Nick with cover fire until we can get out of here, there shouldn't be an issue, unless we get Runners." he said.

"Runners? Is that what you decided to call the fast ones Mr. Hinata?" Savannah asked curiously, earning a nod from him. Nick pulled out the black incendiary strip of ammunition, loading the red tracers into it instead. He pulled the slide back, clicking them into place. Saya cocked her shotgun, frowning a bit. She wasn't at all looking forward to what was about to happen. Hinata decided to switch to his side arm, since his rifle only fired in semi-automatic and three round burst, he didn't think it would be useful to him at this particular time. He walked over to the metal door, spotting the switch box next to it, Savannah pressed herself against the corner, shakily holding her Beretta up, finger already on the trigger. He flicked the switch to the right, pressing the red button.

"I hit it, get ready for hell." he cried out, over the loud sound that had started filling the room. A loud creaking sound filled the entire room, but that wasn't what freaked them out, no...what did was the loud screeching they heard after he activated it. He swallowed hard, looking around the room, until he finally saw several Freaks coming though the top windows. He didn't have time to gawk at them, as Savannah had already opened fire on them. He followed suit, blowing their heads apart before they even fell onto the metal span below them. From the door they had come from, several more started running at them, thankfully being taken care of by Saya. Nick had already opened fire, the sound of the mounted machine gun echoing over the loud machinery.

" _This is madness, is this virus mutating them so much that they can hear any sound and climb high obstacles?"_ he thought to himself, as he changed magazines.

"I'm throwing a Molotov." Saya cried out, shouldering her gun. Since it could only chamber five shells at a time, it made it a bit of a hassle for her to use. Quickly lighting the rag, she threw the bottle as hard as she could at the entrance doors, setting them ablaze. The Freaks running though them screamed in agony, their bodies catching fire as if they had been doused in fuel.

"Reloading!" Nick cried, opening the top of the mounted gun. He threw open one of the canisters, pulling a strip of bullets from it. Hinata slipped behind Savannah and closer to the teen, providing cover fire for him until he had loaded the gun up. He heard the top of it slam down hard, the sound of the bolt being pulled back filling his ears.

"Haha, let her rip. Have some of my hot lead you ugly fucks!" Nick cried out, opening fire on the Freaks running toward him. He swept the gun on its pivoting tripod, taking down anything that was running at him, leaving bullet holes on the far wall and on the large machinery.

"It's open!" Savannah cried loudly, pointing toward the door. Hinata changed another magazine, shouting over the gunfire.

"Let's go guys!" He said, moving toward the door. Saya hopped out of the broken window beside Nick, the teen still firing at the thinning crowd, the gun clicked empty and he grabbed his shotgun off the table.

"Time to go." he said to himself, following after Saya. The four climbed up the stairs leading up to the second floor. Nick paused briefly, pulling out his own Molotov.

"I need a light." he said. Saya stopped, flicking her lighter open, the flame igniting the rag. Nick tossed it to the stairs, setting them ablaze as the Freaks made their way up the stairs. They high fived, moving toward the control room. Once through, Hinata shut the door, pushing a large oak desk behind it. They all fell to the ground, panting for breath.

"Level one complete, stand by while we load level two!" Nick said jokingly, loading his shotgun with a few extra shells. Savannah did the same, changing out her empty magazine.

"Shut up asswipe, this isn't a game!" Saya snapped angrily. She was sweating a bit, her pink hair sticking to her forehead. Hinata chuckled, ignoring his friend's antics.

"That was certainly something, I hope to Christ these Runners aren't a normal occurrence, that would complicate things quite a bit." Hinata said. He stood up and stretched, checking his phone.

"Quarter to midnight, we're making excellent time. We should start moving on, we'll take a break once we get out of here and find a suitable place." He said, earning a nod from his friends. Just like that, they were on the move again.

They walked down a dimmed down hallway, sweeping all of the offices for supplies, sadly they didn't find anything, other than a case of soda inside a fridge, which they quickly emptied. They made their way down the stairs, Hinata silently taking down the Freaks on the first floor with his bayonet. He walked toward the glass doors, which had been locked, though the glass had been blown out, littered all over the ground, he carefully opened them and walked down the steps into the street. The rain had picked up a bit, and the wind had gotten a bit stronger, but wasn't a cause for alarm. He shifted his rifle so the barrel was aiming down, to avoid it filling with water. He saw some flashing lights ahead, and decided to walk down the street, heading up it, rather than down, since the opposite side was blocked with large slabs of concrete, most likely the ones they had avoided earlier that night.

"Quick, into that pawn shop." Saya said, breaking into a sprint, heading toward the building. The others followed suit, surprised that there weren't any Freaks shambling around, then again all of that noise in the machine room probably attracted them to it. They passed through the pawn shop, avoiding all of the items that had been thrown all over the showroom floor. There was a large grand piano on the other end of the room, smeared with blood and guts. In graffiti, the words, Looters will be Shot had been written, though it had been filled with bullet holes. They walked into the backroom, closing the door behind themselves. Nick and Hinata pushed a heavy couch in front of it, placing a couple large crates on top of the couch for added protection. The metal door on the other side of the room had been reinforced, much like the ones at the train station, and had been bolted lock, thin bars showing them the outside world.

"Alright, any idea where we are?" Nick asked. Saya paused for a second, narrowing her eyes.

"If I'm correct, we're in the downtown factory district. There's a Federal Express warehouse not that far from here, and I think there's a Burger King in this area too. We might be able to cut through the warehouse and get access to the streets past it, which would lead us to the hospital." she said.

"Hate to break it too ya, but all of the fences around here are topped with barbed wire. I've been in this area before with my mom, there was this gnarly crime scene once during bring your child to work day and she took me too it, someone was shot in the warehouses back here. Civilians could get on the lot, and after that accident, the owners surrounded the complex with barbed wire. We're gonna have to go through the building and out the front door, if we're lucky." Hinata said firmly.

"Shit, why the fuck does this always happen to us?" Saya snapped angrily, making Savannah yelp a bit.

"Don't get mad Miss Saya, we'll be alright!" she said cheerfully. The older teen sighed, hugging the girl tightly to herself.

"Yes we will, and stop calling me Miss, it makes me sound older than I am, call me big sis instead." she said.

"Okay, I'll call you big sis from now on!" she said. Hinata was surprised she had readily agreed to that. Nick rolled his eyes. Hinata however decided to take this time to reload his empty magazines with the ammunition he had found inside the station. The six magazines he had already used were once again topped off, with him still having two hundred rounds to spare. He also loaded up the .45 caliber magazines he had spent as well, he looked around the room, seeing Saya helping Savannah with her magazines, since the girl didn't know how to load them yet.

"You know something, if we come across that Burger King, I am making myself a Whopper. I'm glad my father made me get a summer job at one, now I have the knowledge to make them, I may be the only BK fry cook alive in Japan. That makes me the goddamn Burger King!" Nick exclaimed.

"Oh shut up over there, you are all testosterone and no fight, you haven't gotten the skills to be an actual king." Saya snapped, making Savannah break into laughter.

"Alright, enough of that. How about we take ten before continuing on?" Hinata suggested, earning nods of agreement from them. He calmly continued loading his magazines, placing them back into his pocket, making sure the bullets were secured on. He pulled out his half used magazine, loading a fresh one before placing his gun in his holster, taking the one he had just pulled out and topping it with more bullets. Once it was done being loaded, he placed it in his back pocket.

"All of the fences are being blocked by large tractor trailers. Do you think we could climb on top of one and hop over the barbed wire?" Savannah asked, peeking through the slits in the door.

"That's a two meter fence, we would most likely sprain an ankle trying to jump that." Hinata said.

"He's right, it would be better off to just go through the warehouse...we don't need to take risks if we don't have too." Saya replied, looking at the map once more. It remained quiet after that, with the four of them resting after their journey through the subway tunnels.

"Hey, we might find something in the Fed Ex warehouse, supplies are in high demand, maybe we'll be able to barter some ammo with a box of cigarettes!" Nick exclaimed.

"You really are a retard aren't you?" Saya asked.

"Cut him some slack, it doesn't sound like a bad idea. If we pass by a liquor store at some point, be sure to grab some vodka, we can use it as antiseptic in case we run out of rubbing alcohol. We can always make Molotov's out of them." Hinata said.

"Smart thinking, are you an arsonist or something?" Saya asked curiously.

"He might, he blew up a gas station after all." Nick said.

"Wait...was it a small gas station on the West side of town, near the bridge?" the pinkette asked.

"Hell yeah it was, did you see it?" he asked.

"Of course, our bus was driving by when we saw that span fly into the air. Jesus Christ, Hinata! I didn't think you'd be capable of that."

"Trust me, if we pass by another one, I'll do it again. There's something oddly satisfying about seeing a gas pump going up in flames." he admitted, a content smile on his face.

They remained quiet after that, not really knowing how to reply to his statement. After the ten minutes were up, the young black haired man stood up, once again picking up his backpack and slinging onto his shoulders. He grabbed his rifle, chambering a round into it before walking toward the door.

"Alright, everyone ready to go?" he asked, earning nods from them. He pulled the bar from the door, setting it down beside it and opening the door, walking into the brisk darkness of the night. The clouds above them still continued to swirl, but the rain hadn't picked up any, so they didn't know if it would stop anytime soon. The alleyway split into four separate directions, though the one to their direct left was blocked by a tall barbed wire fence, effectively blocking their path. They kept walking forward, seeing a metal door in front of them, which they decided to take. Nick's eyes lit up, finding himself in the familiar kitchen of Burger King. He slung his shotgun and walked toward the large freezers, throwing them open.

"Hell yes, fully stocked. You guys hungry? I'll whip us up some burgers for the road." He said, looking at his friends.

"If you must, I am a little hungry myself, though I don't like eating things with so much fat." Saya said.

"Doesn't the fat go straight to your boobs though?" Nick asked, causing the girl to go wide eyed in shock. She pumped her shotgun, about to aim it at him, though Hinata held her arms down.

"Down girl, down. He didn't mean it, Nick shut the fuck up!" the teen snapped, his eyes glaring at him. The teen chuckled, and did a quick sweep of the restaurant, surprised to see all of the windows had been intact, and the front doors had been firmly locked. Once the back door was locked, he grabbed all of the necessary ingredients and started cooking the food. He grabbed a large bottle of oil and filled the frialators with it, letting them heat up before filling it to the brim with fries.

"Wow Mr. Nick, you are awesome, think you can make me a kids meal with a toy?" Savannah asked, earning a chuckle from him.

"How about I make you a big kids meal and you get to keep all the toys you can find? And you get a crown for yourself." he said, the girl's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and she eagerly nodded, a grin on her face.

"He's good with kids at least." Saya muttered, from her spot next to the front counter, she had volunteered to keep watch with Hinata.

"Yeah, he was keeping an eye on Alice as well, I think it's because of his own sister. That must suck, having a little sister and not knowing how she's doing, he must be going through a lot." Hinata admitted. He pressed the key pad a couple of times, making the register pop open. He grinned, emptying the box of it's Yen. Saya watched as he emptied the other three registers.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Making some motherfucking money! Besides, you can bribe someone with it, or at least use it to start a fire." he admitted, shoving the bank notes in his backpack.

"You are honestly a weird person, did you really change this much when the world came to an end?" She asked.

"Yes and no. You see the world of the past was a place I was a victim of, a world where I was trapped and couldn't do anything, this world however, this world set me free. I don't take orders from the stagnant Status Quo anymore, I can do whatever the fuck I want. I can take what I want, shoot what I want, blow up what I want, I can be free...this world set me free, and it's a shame that people are dying, but I'm not going to become a victim of this world. Which is why I'll end it myself, if I were to be bitten by one of these fucks. I learned long ago not to fear death, and I am not going to bow down to it either, I'll go like a man, so long as my death serves to help those around me." he said simply. Saya remained quiet after that, not really knowing how to reply to him. In a way, she understood him, for her, this world had also set her free, but she didn't deny wanting her old life back. Being ignored by her parents, having only a few friends due to her bitchiness, it wasn't a fun life, but at least it was a fulfilling one. When the dead started walking though, it made her rapidly accept the world around her, and even though she hadn't dealt with _them_ for long, she had readily accepted their existence into her life, and embraced it, as if it was another challenge life threw at her.

"Alright guys, these are done, I also made plenty for the road, so pack them in." Nick said, setting several bags down on the counter. Hinata wordlessly walked over to them, and grabbed three bags of food, loading them into his pack, taking up the last bit of space he had in it. Nick peeked inside, seeing the corner of a picture frame. His brows furrowed a bit.

"What's that? Family picture?" he asked.

"Uh...not at all. It's something I took on impulse." he said, showing him the painting he had taken from the apartment. Nick looked it closely, eyeing the cat in the center of it.

"I don't know how to feel about that." he replied. Hinata just shoved it back in his pack and zipped it shut, grabbing his burger and an empty cup, walking over to the fountains. He was glad there was still power coming in through the power lines. He didn't know how long that would last though. The four of them sat down at an empty table, eating their food in silence. It was a bit awkward to say the least, and an odd thump on the glass from a Freak made them all be on edge. Thankfully, it walked off, shambling in another direction. They did their best to hurry up after that.

A few minutes later they were making their way across the empty warehouse. All around them, abandoned tractor trailers and Mack trucks lay, parked and in some cases, tipped onto their sides. The large crates had been used to block all of the fences, blood had been smeared on the side of the trucks, and several bodies lay on the ground, their heads caved in, some filled with bullet holes. Freaks were shambling around, a few of them dressed in Fed Ex uniforms, while others were wearing Burger King uniforms, one of them still having their headset on their head. There were around twenty of them in the lot. Hinata thought it best to take out the ones near them. They walked around the back of a trailer, a smile appearing on Hinata's face.

"Hey Nick, check it out." he said, pointing ahead. Nick looked away from the Freaks for a second, a groan escaping his lips.

"You better not asshole." he muttered.

"Think about it, it'll be a good distraction. That lift up there will make noise, so we can use the explosion to mask the sound of the lift." He said.

"Jesus, you really are crazy." Saya muttered. They slowly moved toward the lift, while Hinata walked over to the pumps. Since they were for the trucks in the lot, they started automatically. He pulled the hose from one dropping it to the ground, he lifted the lever, a loud ding filling the area. All of the Freaks turned around, groans echoed around the lot as they started shambling toward the pumps. Hinata slowly moved toward the lift, climbing on to it. He gave Nick a nod, raising the rifle to his shoulder. He looked through the scope, licking his lips as he focused on the flowing gas. The soft pop from his rifle filled his ears as the round struck the ground, igniting the flowing gas. At the same time, Nick hit the button on the lift, and it slowly started it's ascent. All of them got down, just as the pump caught fire, exploding seconds later. The large awning blew into the air, a mushroom cloud of black smoke filling the area around it. The flaming twisted metal fell to the ground, the bright orange flames towering to the skies. Large pieces of wood and metal slowly started falling to the ground, filling the area with loud bangs of metal striking the concrete, leaving large holes behind. All of the Freaks in the area started walking toward the noise, completely ignoring the lift as it slowly made it's way up. However that was only for a few seconds, as the loud footsteps of the Runners filled their ears.

They started coming at them from over the top of the building, some of them running over the edge and falling to their deaths. The ones that managed to make it to the lift were taken care of by Saya and Nick, who blew their heads apart with each shot fired.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea." Nick said.

"What are you talking about, this was an awesome idea!" Hinata said, the soft pops of his gun filling his ears as he took down more Freaks. He noticed the black gun powder around the chamber of the rifle, and figured it was due to the suppressor, but he wasn't about to take it off, that would make his gun louder than it needed to be. Finally getting onto the roof, the four of them raced across it, heading toward the large windows on the side of the warehouse.

"There's no way to get up there, what do we do?" Savannah asked.

"Shoot the glass, and use that pipe to get to the edge." Hinata said, switching from semi-automatic to three round burst. He knelt down, and started aiming at the nearest Freaks, taking them out swiftly, while Saya provided him with cover fire. Nick shot the glass, shimming down the side of the pipe, climbing into the large warehouse. He held his hand out, pulling Savannah up.

"Guys, we're clear up here, hurry up!" Nick said, loading more shells into his gun. Savannah had been covering his back while Saya and Hinata kept taking down the Runners. Finally, it seemed as if they had thinned out, and the ceased their fire, quickly climbing up to the warehouse. Hinata pressed the magazine release on his gun, changing his magazine for a new one.

"There's a hole over here, quick let's go down it." Nick said, looking at the large hole in the ground, leading down to the second floor. Hinata was the first one down, instantly shooting all of the Freaks in the room, once he gave the all clear, Nick lowered Savannah and Saya, followed by himself. They noticed another small gathering of ammunition on top of the table, next to a large red First Aid box. Nodding to themselves, they decided to load up on ammo. Savannah spotted a bag underneath the table and grabbed it, looking it over. It was a little big for her, but she knew it was better than nothing.

"I'm surprised to see all of this spare ammunition all over the place, considering guns are illegal in Japan." Nick said, shoving more shotgun shells into his rapidly filling satchel. Hinata did the same, salvaging all of the rifle ammunition and handgun ammunition in sight.

"It's because of the Special Forces. There's a US Marine Base in Okinawa, so the Prime Minister sent American soldiers to the hardest hit areas, it makes sense for ammunition to laying around. My daddy was called into service as well, but we were all the way here, I feel bad that her Majesty is unprotected. He was one of the best in the British Special Forces." Savannah said, her voice full of sadness.

"So, what was your old man part of? The SAS? UKSF, the SFSG?" Nick asked curiously. The girl shook her head, a smile working it's way onto her face.

"No, he was part of the Royal Marines Commandos. Those blokes have all the best military training, they are absolutely brilliant! Not to bash the other Military branches, their all excellent, really!" she added, a frightened look on her face, as if someone would lash at her for her opinion.

"Your father was part of the Royal Navy then? That's impressive, the Royal Marines are some of the toughest sons of bitches I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. If anyone can survive a tough situation, it's them. Then again...this plague hit us out of nowhere...there's no doubt in my mind that they suffered heavy losses. I just hope my old man is alright in all this turmoil." Nick said, loading a few shells into his shotgun.

"Is your papa part of the military too Mr. Nick?" Savannah asked, earning a nod from him.

"Yup, Lieutenant Colonel Franklin A. McFay, the toughest mother fucker you'll meet in your entire life. That bastard fought in the Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan, hell he was part of Operation Desert Storm. He's told me so much shit that he's had to do, I'm surprised he isn't a Major General at this point. He may be old, but he'll still kick your ass and make you eat your own shit if you push him over the line. He did his best to take care of us, me and my sister I mean, even while my mother was sick, but being constantly called on leave put us in a bad situation. When he was deployed in 04 to head to Iraq, my mother couldn't take it, she suffered a heart attack, years of diabetes had already weakened her, and she had several other disease I can't remember. Even with her death, he still had to go. Recently, he's tried to get time off to spend time with us, but work is always calling him back. He was actually discussing his retirement with the General a few weeks ago. It was his colleague who suggested he move us from Anaheim California to Tokunosu city. It was hard to adapt, but I was still young, and his at the time girlfriend drilled the Japanese language into our brains...she was really fun, doubt she's still alive though." he said.

"Why do you say that?" the redhead asked curiously.

"Well, she was a high school teacher in Tokyo. She taught in Kuoh Academy if I remember correctly. If this shit storm is as bad as it has been, there's no way she made it out alive. She was ten years younger than my dad, a lithe little thing that didn't even know Military terms for the life of her, but she made my dad happy, even if my sister Mindy hated her very presence. But enough about me, it's about time get moving yeah?" he asked, looking at his friends. Saya and Hinata shared a look, giving him a firm nod. The two had been busy emptying out the First Aid Kit, leaving some stuff behind for anyone else who might stumble upon it.

They silently moved into the warehouse, their flashlights lighting the way. Hinata's eyes looked around at the entire area, not finding anything out of the ordinary. He started walking down the stairs, avoiding the smeared blood that was all over the floor. He had the urge to vomit, but bit his cheek trying to hold it in. Saya didn't look any better as she hurried through the door.

They found themselves in a large warehouse, filled to the brim with large brown boxes, stacked on top of each other. The large metal shelves reached up to the ceiling, large cone shaped lights hanging above them on thick cords, though only two of them were on serving to light the entire room, the rest of the lights were coming in from the large windows. There was an over turned forklift near the front of the warehouse, three Freaks being stabbed into the large metal forks, their undead hands reaching for the still living humans. Hinata decided to ignore them as they walked past them, looking around at all of the boxes.

"Doesn't seem like we'll find anything useful here, other than bubble wrap and packing penuts." he said.

"Shit, I was hoping to find at least something. Maybe a weather radio or something that can connect to a satellite." Nick muttered.

"Get real, those things would be hard to find normally, unless you go to a specialty store. Can't say Best Buy is still running at this time, use your head sometime." Saya snapped, her grip on the Ithaca tightening a bit.

"Don't you mean Radio Shack? We'd have a better shot at finding one there." Hinata said, a smirk on his face. She scoffed, shaking her head, her wet bangs sticking to her forehead. She paused to brush them out of her eyes, glaring at the taller teen.

"We would have better luck finding a Blockbuster than finding a still working Radio Shack, man what a freaking dweeb." she said firmly, muttering the last part. Nick chuckled, shaking his head.

"Well, we're all getting along swimmingly."

"Of sod off, would ya Mr. Nick? We don't need to be acting like wankers now of all times." Savannah said, brushing past them, her gun raised up.

"Well kid, you take point for now." Hinata said, following close behind the redheaded girl. They walked briskly, passing through the door at the other end of the room, once again being outside. They looked around, seeing the exits had been sealed off with tall barbed wire fences. With nowhere to go, Savannah lead them down toward another open door. The hallway was dark, the only source of light being a road flare someone had dropped on the ground. A couple pipes had burst, hot steam blowing out of them filling the room with a thick hot fog that made it absolutely dreadful. They walked quickly through his hallway, being greeted by a metal door that lead down into a metal stairway.

"Um...not to shit on anyones corn flakes but...where does this lead?" Nick asked quietly, looking down at some of the large blood splotches on the ground.

"No idea, its literally my first time being here." Saya snapped, glaring at the brown haired teen. They walked silently after that, reaching the bottom of the stairs, seeing a man laying against the back wall, a single bullet hole on the side of his head. His chest had been torn open, his ribs sticking out like the jaws of a hungry predator. All of his organs had been pulled out, strewn around his body half eating, his heart still visible through his opened rib cage. He had an oddly peaceful look on his face, as if he had come to terms with his own death. Beside him lay a Colt Detective Special, still around his hand. Hinata knelt down before him, inspecting his body for a second, seeing a bronze name tag on his waist, along with a Police badge.

"This man was a detective. Probably lead some people down here before falling to his own demise." he said softly. He took a hold of the gun in his hand, gritting his teeth a bit as he pried the gun from the man's death grip. He stood up, checking the gun over, four spent rounds, two unused still in the cylinder. Thankfully this model had been chambered in thirty two and in thirty eight special, so he could use it if he wanted too. He ejected the spent shell casings, slipping it into his empty holster.

"Did you know him?" Nick asked curiously, earning a no from the teen.

"This is my first time seeing this man. I've met quite a lot of detectives on the force, but not this man, he's most likely from the West Precinct. Still a brave man." he said, holding his hand up in a salute. Nick stood by his side, saluting the man as well, followed by Savannah, and a grumbling Saya. After their salute, they moved into the room, seeing the large white tanks that had been placed in there, six of them total, all of them being the size of a small moving truck, thick white pipes lead into them, and were attached to the floor. Saya groaned.

"Oh great, I know what this place is. It's a waste management facility." she said.

"Waste...management?" Savannah asked.

"Yes, every single water main in this half of the city is connected to several facilities like this, those large tanks store the dirty waste water and separate the solids from the liquids. The water is then transferred through another pipeline toward the water processing and treatment plant where it goes through several cleaning procedures before being sent out through the waterlines into residences and businesses. The solids that are removed are dumped into the sewage line, drained of remaining liquid and also sent to get treatment." Saya explained, earning a nod from the three friends.

"Alright then, Hinata, give me a dumbed down version please." Nick said, earning a sigh and a groan from both Hinata and Saya. He licked his lips, looking at the brown haired teen.

"Poop water from toilets sent down to white tanks. White tanks separate poop from water, water transferred to other place to be cleaned, poop dumped under city streets." he said, in a broken tone that made Savannah laugh. Saya rolled her eyes, though she was biting back her own giggles.

"Okay, I didn't need you to hit me with a full retard explanation. If that's the case, that means we'll be walking through shit water, awesome." he said. Hinata looked around the room, seeing it surprisingly empty. He saw another room not far from where they were, and decided to lead his friends in there. Once it was secured, he closed the heavy metal door, locking it for good measure. The room seemed more like a break station, with a few appliances strewn about, there also was a large sewer cap in the center of the room, which had been partially lifted, the scent of rotting excrement filling the room. Savannah plugged her nose tightly, her face turning a little green.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." she said.

"I know it's bad sweet heart, but there's only one way out of here, and it's through the sewers. We're gonna take a break here before moving on. I need to find a map to see where we are. This is a rest station so there has to be a map of the sewer lines somewhere. Take a rest, you definitely earned it." he said. The girl nodded, and walked over to a nearby leather chair, dropping unceremoniously into it. She shrugged off the small pack they had recovered for her during their journey and looked through it, finding a case of spare bullets. Nick had already settled into a folding chair, setting his shotgun down on top of a table, closing his eyes for a few minutes, most likely trying to get a quick nap. Saya however didn't feel like taking a break. She looked restless, as she scanned the room for supplies. Hinata shouldered his rifle, and walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Saya, are you alright?" he asked.

"Hell no! I gotta walk through shit in a few minutes, do I actually look okay?" she snapped angrily.

"I know, but you aren't the only one walking through shit. If my hunch is right, we'll be able to find an access cap near Mercy Hospital. It's actually a good thing we're here, less of a chance of running into Freaks down here then street side. Just take a deep breath and...actually, don't take a deep breath, you'll probably die from the fumes." he said, even though she had a serious look on her face, she couldn't help but let out a giggle.

"You're right Hinata, I'm freaking out over nothing, and you are right about there possibly being a line straight to Mercy Hospital. We just, have to stay positive, just like the runt has been doing." she said, sparing a look at Savannah, who was busy loading bullets into her spent magazine.

"Yeah, I'm happy we saved her you know. Maybe I can adopt her, make her my little sister from now on, I'm willing to take care of her for as long as she needs. And she needs guidance, someone loosing their parents so young I mean...she reminds me of myself...when I lost my father." he said.

"Nozomi told me about that you know. I didn't know the details, but I still felt it was cruel how everyone treated you. I wanted to talk to you too, maybe be friends, but my parents thought against it, at least until the fourth grade. Even now, I'm glad we met up again." she said, a smile on her face. He grinned, sweeping her bangs out of her eyes.

"Me too Saya, me too."


	8. No Mercy: Mercy Hospital Escape

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 8

 _No Mercy for the Dead_

 _Mercy Hospital Escape_

Having been unsuccessful at locating a map, Saya decided to use the map they already had to track their course. She had drawn a thick red line, following the same path they had taken throughout the night, starting at the Jewelry store and ending at the Waste management facility she assumed they we're currently in. It was a little hard for her to pinpoint exact locations as they hadn't taken an exact path to where they were currently, but she would find them a clear path to take, or her name wasn't Saya Takagi.

The roles had been switched between Savannah and Nick, with the teenager having fallen asleep while she kept watch. There wasn't a door she could look out through, so she just kept her eyes trained on the sewer cap leading down into the sewers, though she doubted the Freaks had enough strength to lift it. Then again, she had seen them sprinting at great speeds, and climb high structures, them lifting a two ton cap wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Still, she found the peace and quiet to be very rewarding, if not unnerving, considering what she had been through that day.

She still remembered it, when she had gotten off that plane and landed in Tokunosu International Airport. She had been so excited to see the sights, to explore a foreign nation in the spring while all of the Sakura trees had been in full bloom. She was off from school back in London, so taking a family trip had been their plan all along. Her mother Samantha had been so excited, taking pictures of her daughter and her husband at every single tourist spot, under every blooming tree and with random people that passed by the street, it had been a wonderful trip.

Half way through it, they passed by a large wall with missing people tapped on it, beautiful women, young children and battle hardened men, all gone missing in a short period of time. Her father Stephen found it alarming that so many people had gone missing in such a short period of time. It wasn't until the plague struck that he had put two and two together, and figured all of those people had long since died.

The first night had been scary, and all she could do was weep, hugging her mother tightly as they tried to secure the hotel they had been staying at. That however proved to be fruitless, as the Freaks had made their way inside. Somehow, they had managed to get out into the streets, but it had been much much worse.

Everything after that was sort of a blur. Trying to cross the bridge, getting down into the subway tunnels to cross into the east side of town, even securing that storage room, it had all happened too fast for her young mind to process. She just wanted to go home, to her cozy bed, and her stuffed animals, so she could tell her best friend Janie about her adventures in Japan. The realization that her friend was most likely dead struck her like an out of control train, and she just started screaming. Her fellow survivors had told her forcefully to shut up, only for her father to get aggressive. She was the only kid among adults, understood by no one but her parents. Letting in a couple more survivors had been her father's mistake, not checking them for bites had been her mothers, and not being able to save them from being killed was her own. It was something that would haunt her for the rest of her days. And when she had been contemplating just ending it all, at the tender age of eleven, she heard his voice.

His voice had been a godsend, she knew then she didn't want to die, and her weeping stopped. She was filled with adrenaline, and a strong will to survive, to live through the apocalypse so that her parents memory wouldn't stay with the dead. Hinata had been her escape, her angel, and for that she would forever be thankful. Even now, while he was talking with Saya and plotting their course, she couldn't help but admire him, his bravery, his risky decisions, even his bad jokes. He was a hero, at least to her. She could feel the warmth on her cheeks, and wouldn't be able to deny she was blushing, thankfully the only person who could have seen it was currently shooting sheep, so she would be safe.

She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself from developing a crush on the older teenager. And even though she knew it wasn't meant to be, she wouldn't mind indulging herself in a few fantasies, if only for her young mind. She didn't comprehend this surge of feelings coursing through her small body, but she would hold them down and focus on survival, it was the only thing she could do at this point.

"So you're sure this will take us to Mercy Hospital?" Hinata asked, looking at the pinkette who had a firm look on her face. She gave him a nod, tracing the street with her finger.

"Of course! I calculated the path comparing it to the one we've taken all night. If we go down into the tunnels and take a left, cut through an access tunnel into the next sewage tunnel, we'll be able to follow it all the way up. Once we walk three or four blocks, we turn up, take another access tunnel, walk down that next street and we should be underneath the hospital." she said firmly.

"Alright, we'll have to factor in some fixes to this path in case there are Freaks down here, can't be too careful. We can't be the only ones who considered the sewers a safe haven." he said.

"Please, I'm a genius. These tunnels are marked with big red arrows that point to all the access hatches. If worse comes to worse we follow one of them until we find the access to Mercy Hospital. However, there is another thing that I want to talk about...but I would rather do that once I'm sure we're near the hospital." she said. He nodded, memorizing the path drawn on the map before folding it up, shoving it in his pocket. He checked his phone, muttering a swear.

"It's 2:34AM. At this rate we might make it to your house by morning, if we're lucky." he said. He checked the battery, seeing that it was at half since it's last charge at Rika's place. He was surprised it had lasted this long, then again he hadn't been texting Nozomi like normal either, so his battery had lasted longer. He closed the phone, placing it in his pocket.

"Whatever, so long as we get there. Man, after this, the first thing I want is a goddamn shower. I've never felt dirtier in my life." she said, flicking some of her pink hair behind her shoulder. Hinata almost wanted to see what it looked like when it was down, though he had seen it briefly at Rika's, he hadn't been paying much attention to them, due to their state of undress, and the state of blood flow in his pants.

"Are we ready to jet?" Savannah asked, loading a new magazine into her Beretta.

"I suppose." Saya said. She nodded, placing her gun in her fanny pack, making sure the safety was on.

"Alright, I'll wake Sleeping beauty from his nap." she said, walking over to where Nick was sleeping. Saya tilted her head in curiosity, with Hinata shrugging.

"Must be a British thing." he said simply. He walked over to the sewer cap and knelt down, slipping his fingers through the gap. He grit his teeth, trying to lift it up. He was joined by Saya, the two of them struggling to lift it onto it's side. The only managed to move it enough for all of them to fit through without much issue. Looking down into the tunnels, she noticed all of the emergency lights had been turned on. There were several thick pipes underneath the opening, a meter or so below them, which would serve as a shelf of sorts. After that, it was a 2 meter drop, maybe a little less.

"Whoo, man someone needs to hold back on those Five layer burritos." Nick said, appearing next to his friends. His eyes were filled with tiredness, and he held back a yawn.

"Says you, half of this shit is probably yours!" Saya snapped back, making the teen chuckle.

"Pardon me Lady Saya, but you don't seem to have a golden asshole, last I recall you live on this part of town, meaning this shit is also yours."

"Guys, really?" Hinata asked, glancing at the two. It was bad enough they had to walk through it, he didn't need a constant reminder. He lowered himself down first, his feet touching the pipes below him. He stood on them for a few seconds, nodding himself when the held his weight. He looked around with his rifle, finding the area hand been clear of Freaks.

"Send Savannah down." he said. Nick and Saya nodded, taking a firm hold of the girl's arms. They slowly lowered her down, with Hinata wrapping his arms around her midsection. Once he had her, they let go and he set her down beside him. He gave her a pat on the head, and she blushed a bit, looking away.

"Keep an eye out while I help Saya." he said. She nodded, drawing her gun from her fanny pack. She walked a few paces from him, kneeling down on top of the pipe.

"I swear to Christ, if you look up my skirt..." Saya muttered dryly. Hinata rolled his eyes, holding his arms up. Saya lowered herself down, almost slipping though thankfully Hinata was able to grab her in time. He set her down beside him, a smirk on his face.

"There, blue stripes suit you." he said with a wink.

"Goddamn it." she grit, gripping the strap of her shotgun rather tightly. Nick was the last one down, dropping softly onto the pipes, which rattled a bit with all of their added weight. All of them looked around briefly, finding a solid patch of concrete they could jump to. Nick went down first, landing in a crouched position. He looked around briefly, giving his friends a thumbs up.

"It's a lot lower than you might think, just make sure to bend your knees, we don't need a sprained ankle." he said.

"Savannah, you go down next, I'll lower Saya and go last." Hinata said. The girl nodded, jumping down into Nick's arms, while Hinata lowered the pink haired girl down. He jumped down last, landing a bit harder than he wanted, but otherwise none worse for wear.

The sewer tunnels stretched around them for kilometers, rotting waste was flowing down a path in between two raised concrete platforms, serving as a sidewalk of sorts. He noticed that the path ahead of them had been blocked by what looked like a large metal gate, most likely the machinery that stopped the flow of waste. If those were down, that meant there had been people down there, people that turned into Freaks. He grit his teeth, turning to his friends.

"Lets tread carefully. The storm doors are down, meaning they were used as barriers against the Freaks. Saya you take point, I'll cover your six." he said. She gave him a nod, drawing her shotgun, cocking it to make sure there was a round in the chamber. They started walking down their planned course, keeping their eyes peeled for any Freaks that may have been wondering around. It was deathly quiet, the only sound being the one from the flowing waste. They turned the corner, walking straight after taking a right turn. They saw a couple Freaks walking around in the waste, the water being up to their calves.

"Ugh...just what we need. Disgusting dead fucks walking through shit!" Saya muttered. Hinata let off two quick rounds, their heads snapping to the sides as their bodies dropped into the flowing mounds of excrement.

"Taken care of. We have to walk four blocks up this tunnel before taking our next turn, let's stay focused guys." He said, allowing Saya to take the lead once more. They continued moving forward, walking past the bodies of the recently dispatched Freaks. They reached another corner and stopped, assuming it was a street corner. The next side walk was on the other side of a large pile of crap. All of them swallowed hard.

"Savannah sweetie, maybe you should get on my back." Hinata said, handing his backpack off to Saya, who slipped it over her own smaller one. The redhead girl put the safety on her gun and slipped it into her fanny pack, climbing onto Hinata's back. Her face was flushed red, and she was happy it was relatively darkened within the tunnel system. Hinata gripped his rifle tightly, thanking and apologizing to Rika for what he was about to do to her boots. He took the first step in, sinking all the way down to his ankles. He gagged a bit, almost wanting to vomit. He took another step, sinking in a bit more. He closed his eyes and kept walking forward, leaving behind thick gloppy footprints.

"Jesus Christ, I can kill Freaks, see intestines and blood all over the goddamn ground but I can't walk through shit? Something is definitely wrong with me." He muttered dryly. Savannah tightened her hold on his shoulders as he walked onto the sidewalk. He set her down, using the edge of the concrete to brush off some of the shit he had just gone through.

"Hey Nick, wanna carry me?" Saya asked.

"Go fuck yourself, I'm wearing converse, how the hell do you think I feel?" He asked firmly.

"I am too asshole. Be a gentlemen and let me ride on your shoulders."

"Just walk through it ya pussies!" Savannah snapped angrily, making the two of them jump into the pile of crap. Thankfully they just stepped in the large foot holes Hinata had left behind, making it a little easier on them.

"It's not shit, it's mud...stinky...green...icky..mud...yeah." Nick said, as he made his way across. He stepped up onto the side walk, holding his gun up high, a smile on his face. His victorious look suddenly changed to one of disgust as he turned around and vomited the contents of his stomach onto the floor, or rather onto Saya's shoes. The pink haired girl's turned into one of pure unadulterated anger as she rose her shotgun above her head, about to strike the teenager with it.

"Bite your tongue!" Hinata snapped. The girl did so, though not hard enough to injure herself. She took a deep breath through her mouth, not wanting to vomit herself. Nick wiped his mouth, pulling out a water bottle from his backpack, twisting the cap off.

"I'm sorry Saya, I truly didn't mean too." he said, pouring the water onto her shoes. She sighed, lowering her rifle.

"Don't bother. We'll be walking through more shit, that's just a waste of water." she said, brushing past him.

They remained silent after that, not really wanting to touch up on the subject anymore than they had too. At one point, they ran into a horde of about twenty Freaks, just waiting around the corner, and that had forced them to take one of the access tunnels to cut through another section into the bigger sewer tunnel, but that only lead them to a bigger horde, so they had to back track. Half an hour after they first stepped into the sewers, they ended up finding a rest station. There were a couple of construction lights set around the room, hooked up to an thick orange extension cord that ran literally through the brick walls. There was also a small kerosene lamp on a large wooden spool, a few spent bullet casings littering the ground.

"Well, looks like people were here. Maybe that big group of Freaks we passed were all survivors thinking the same thing we are." Nick muttered.

"Perhaps...maybe they were seeking refuge here as well. The sewer tunnels do have large areas where workers spent from days to even weeks underground to extend these tunnels. They have large metal doors, and have a direct line to the streets in case of flooding. It would be a perfect place to hole up." Hinata muttered, looking around the room. He saw a few messages written on the walls. Some he just disregarded, but there were various messages of interest.

"Think we can use one of those then? Find an access next to a big chain super market and make the most of it?" Nick asked.

"How many people do you think had the same idea? Did you not see all of those idiots down there? All of them are dead because of that same idea, and the available bunkers are most likely already taken. Those don't open from the outside, so we'd be wasting our time. You're so stupid!" Saya snapped angrily. Nick sighed, not broaching the matter further, he was already used to her attitude, so there wasn't a point.

"Hey guys, it says here this access will lead us to the Mercy Hospital access point. All we have to do is go straight, take a right, go straight take a right and then go straight, and that large tunnel will take us there." Hinata said, looking back at his friends.

"Excellent, you're brilliant Mr. Hinata, good eye!" Savannah said, a bright grin on her face. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'm not that brilliant Savannah, I just read the walls. We still have a long journey ahead of us. Let's go." he said, grabbing the lantern off the table. He held it ahead of him, aiming down the path with his .45. He followed the directions to the dot, finally arriving at a large tunnel, far larger than the other ones they had been through. He set the lantern down, turning it off before hooking it to his backpack. He didn't know when something like that might come in handy. Walking straight, he aimed his weapon in every direction, before having to cross over to the other side. Finally, after searching for a few more minutes, the saw a large crimson arrow, pointing to a red ladder, the name Mercy Hospital, written in bold red letters. They looked up, seeing the ladder rose at least three meters above them, the cap was thankfully open, and they could see the swirling clouds above them, along with a thick glowing search light.

"Alright, we're almost home free. Now we just have to find an ambulance and get the hell out of Dodge!" Nick said happily.

"There is an issue with that, something that I wanted to share with you. This tunnel exit will take us to the main entrance of Mercy Hospital. The ambulances are parked in the Emergency entrance." Saya said, a frown on her face.

"Meaning?" Nick asked curiously.

"Meaning, we'll have to walk through the hospital to reach the Emergency entrance. If the government was smart, they would have turned all major hospitals in the area into quarantine zones and emergency treatment centers. This place is a literal dead zone, the fact that they are still doing an evacuation here surprises me. It might be that the entire north side of the hospital has been contained, or it could be that the chopper ferrying people out of here is just a local one as opposed to a military one. Whatever the case, we're in for a tough fight." Hinata said.

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I just didn't want to stress you out more than we already were." Saya admitted, a shameful look on her face. Nick smirked, slapping her shoulder a little harder than he intended.

"Chin up, Saya Takagi doesn't get ashamed. Come hell or high water, we'll make it outta here...we have to do that much at least." He said.

"Ow! Bastard don't hit me that hard!" she snapped, making Savannah giggle. Hinata shook his head, placing his side arm in his holster.

"Alright then, I'll go first and scope the place out. Do you still have any of those Molly's on you?" he asked, looking at his friends.

"I have one, but I was trying to save it." Saya said.

"All out on my end boss, sorry."

"Eh, it's alright, I've been dying to try something else." he said, pulling something out of his backpack.

It was the oddest thing they had ever seen. It was a small pipe, about the size of a television remote. It was capped at the bottom with a white PVC cap. The top of it seemed to be capped off with a metallic cap, and there was what looked like a fuse sticking from the top. Around it, was a battery, a 9 volt battery, which had been secured with electrical tape onto the main part of the pipe. Two thin wires were hooked to it, leading to what looked to be a small speaker. There was also a little light bulb on it, which was red in color. Saya's eyes widened when she realized what it was.

"Is that a pipe bomb? How the hell did you even make that?" She asked.

"Extensive research my dear, let's just say I was into explosives when I was a kid. I once tied three cherry bombs together and almost blew my fingers off. I was able to whip up this simple mechanism, light the fuse, press the button and head for the hills. I put enough powder and buckshot to take out a grizzly bear. Thankfully there was a surplus of shotgun shells so I was able to come up with this pretty quick. I was able to make four of them, but I ran out of electric clocks." he said with a chuckle.

"So that's why you were collecting those clocks at the apartments. I'll say, you are smarter than I give you credit for. I'm sure the military Otaku would be impressed by your genius." Saya said, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"Why thank you Miss Saya, it makes me happy that a genius of your caliber is complimenting me. Anyways, hand me a zippo." he said. Saya ignored the blush on her cheeks and dug her hand into her shirt, pulling out the silver zippo lighter she had taken from Rika's house. He took it form her, his hand brushing against her fingers as he took it into his grasp. He cracked his neck, taking a deep breath as he started his long ascent to the streets above him.

"Sorry about the crap I'm leaving on the rungs by the way." He said, pausing to look down at his friends.

"Asshole! You didn't need to remind us." Saya snapped angrily, making him chuckle. After a few minutes of climbing, he finally made it street side. He poked his head through the manhole, looking around for a few seconds. All around him were piled up bodies, covered in white sheets, some being placed in black bodies bags, that were still moving. There were several Freaks hanging around the area as well. The roads around the hospital entrance had been blocked with large tractor trailers and small cars. The area that would cut through the parking lot had been blocked with eight meter tall concrete slabs, that reached to the roof tops of the neighboring buildings. He looked up at the hospital, the towering fifteen floor structure that overlooked all of Tokunosu was built out of red bricks. Large windows, some smeared with blood, spanned the entirety of the hospital, and he hoped they were made of Plexiglas or something similar.

The large florescent sign spelling Mercy Hospital, shone brightly over the streets below, the bright red cross serving as a beacon of safety and security. On the roof top were four large search lights, circling the area above them, the cloud cover making it easier for them to be spotted. He looked at the hospital entrance, seeing a large granite sign with the words Main Entrance not far from the large revolving doors.

The sounds of chopper blades made him look up, seeing what looked like a white and red chopper landing on the roof, only for it to take off a minute or so later. He climbed out of the man hole, kneeling on the road for a bit while he lit the fuse of his bomb. He looked around for a few seconds, before pressing the button, throwing it toward the other side of the hospital, near a destroyed Dunkin Donuts. He ducked back into the tunnel, watching as some of the Freaks raced toward the sound. The alarm got louder and faster the sounds of the Freaks becoming louder along side the bomb until a loud Boom rocked through the area, filling it with nothing but silence. He looked out of the hole, seeing several limbs and body parts flying through the air, thick globs of blood and internal organs slapped the ground, making him swallow the lump in his throat. The area had been cleared, so he snapped his fingers three times before climbing out of it. The looked around, thankfully the trailers and tall concrete walls made it hard for any Freaks to climb them. He saw an abandoned S.A.T. van parked near the sign, it's back doors wide opened. He grit his teeth.

"That would have made the perfect transport." he muttered dryly.

"Man, that's some bomb, we heard it from down there." Nick said, climbing out of the hole. He helped Savannah and Saya out, looking around the area at the strewn bodies.

"How much gun powder did you put in that thing?" Saya asked curiously.

"Four shells worth, along with all of the buckshot and a wad to keep it together. I had to use some rubbing alcohol as fuel, but it proved effective yes?" he asked.

"Definitely. Let's haul ass, the faster we get through this hospital, the better." She said.

"Hang on a second, I wanna check that S.A.T. van for some stuff." He said.

"Fine, but make it quick."

Hinata nodded and walked over to the van, keeping his brisk pace. He jumped into the van, looking around, not finding anything of interest. Whatever had been inside was more than likely taken. He moved toward a metal crate, popping the top open. Other than a couple pairs of knee pads and elbow pads, he didn't find anything worth taking. He stepped out of the truck, tossing the pads to the girls.

"Put those on, we don't need you two breaking your joints now of all times. I don't think there's a doctor that could treat you in this place." he said.

"T-thank you Mr. Hinata." Savannah said, a light blush on her face. She sat down on the pavement, slipping the knee pads onto her knees, though they were a bit big on her, she made sure to tighten them so they wouldn't slip off. Nick helped her out with her elbows, while Hinata did the same with Saya.

"Man, this would have been a great ride back to my place. Fully armored, reinforced bumpers, we could have had a smooth ride. And it has an auxiliary cord, so we could have played music too." Saya said, a smile on her face.

"I didn't think you wanted to listen to the classics now of all times." Hinata said, brow raised in surprise. She scoffed, giving him her hand, once on her feet, she grabbed her shotgun.

"I don't listen to the classics often, that's more my parents. I listen to Post Hardcore, it helps me with my studies." She said.

"Really? Didn't expect you to listen to that...although I do listen to Baby Metal quite a bit. Japanese Post Hardcore or American?" he asked.

"American of course! Crown the Empire, Falling in Reverse, hell I have several others that I can't name off the top of my head...I may act like a bitch around everyone, but it's because I don't have time to deal with fake people. Then again, I think my schedule has been cleared for the next fifty years or so, so I guess I'll have more time to listen to that stuff, you know...if the power holds out long enough, or we find a surplus of car batteries and power converters." she said.

"Anything is possible Saya, come on let's move on." he said, hearing the familiar sound of chopper blades. It seemed as if the chopper had come back to grab some more survivors. He could only pray whoever was up there didn't meet a grim fate.

Passing through the revolving doors, they were greeted with an empty lobby, which was in shambles. All of the chairs had been strewn about, papers all over the place, tipped over desks, broken fish tank, some fish still flopping around, blood and mangled body parts and of course, Freaks in hospital gowns. Hinata held his hand up, while he counted all of the Freaks in the lobby.

"Twenty or thirty, I can't see some of the ones in the other rooms." he whispered.

"Let's move slowly then. This hallway to our right will take us through to the Visitor elevators, that path will lead us to the Emergency lobby." Saya replied. The two of them nodded and started slowly walking through the lobby, quietly taking down any Freak that got close to them. Savannah had grown a bit scared at this point, with all of the Freaks hanging around the area. She grabbed onto Nick's backpack strap, her grip on her pistol tightening.

They made it past a set of double doors, which had been left open, as soon as they passed through them, Nick and Hinata closed them, the soft click bouncing on the quiet halls. The emergency lights had been turned on, the fire alarms having stopped long ago. There were blue lights shining all over the hospital as well as bright red ones that blinked at a rapid pace. Saya walked forward, a small smile on her face.

"This way...it won't be long until we see the elevators." she said. A Freak walked out from behind a plant, lunging at the pink haired girl, who turned too late to shoot it. A loud boom filled the empty hallway, as Nick blew it's head clean off it's shoulders. Groans filled their ears, coming from every direction.

"Shit!" he muttered.

"Go, don't worry about it man. You saved her life so don't regret pulling that trigger." Hinata said. He shouldered his rifle, drawing his 1911 instead. Saya had been breathing a bit hard, the fresh blood smeared on her body serving as a bitter reminder of her mistake. The group of four opened fire on any Freaks they saw, most of them wearing scrubs and identification tags, while others were in hospital gowns, completely naked aside from said gown.

"Oh god, zombie ass cheeks!" Nick said, shooting a woman who lunged at him, her gown having been ripped off her body, revealing her shapely figure, just before he blew her head off.

"Jesus Christ Nick! Keep that shit to yourself!" Saya snapped angrily. They made it to the elevators, coming to a dead stop when they saw the hallway had been blocked all the way to the ceiling with a cinder block wall, that had been hastily made. Saya pounded her fist onto it, but it didn't budge. She turned around, loading more shells into her gun.

"Um...what now?" she asked, looking at her friends who were busy taking down the Freaks slowly shambling toward them.

"I dunno...something!" Nick said. Savannah looked around, unable to see anything that could facilitate their escape, that is until her eyes landed on the elevator button. She pushed the button rapidly, her eyes firmly on the floor counter, which currently read fourteen.

"Come on you bloody twat, get a move on yeah?" she cried, slamming her tiny fists onto the metal doors.  
"Smart thinking Savannah, we can take the elevator to another floor and take the stairs down to the emergency lobby." Hinata said, replacing his third spent magazine. The bodies had started piling up around them, making the other Freaks start to trip over them. Nick smashed the closest ones with the butt of his gun while Hinata provided him with cover fire. Finally, a loud ding filled the area, and the elevator doors slid open, thankfully empty. All over them filed in, with Hinata pressing the door close button. As the doors were sliding closed, a Freak tried making it's way inside, only for Saya to blow a hole in its chest, just as the doors slid closed.

"Alright, what floor do we stop on?" Hinata asked.

"The second floor, those are the offices and the kitchen so it's not going to be filled with patients." Saya said. He nodded and pressed the number 2, lurching the small metal room up. It dinged and the doors slid opened to an eerily empty main office. The hallway to the left had been closed and sealed off with metal desks and wheel chairs, while the windows on that floor had been boarded up with large wooden panels. The quartet slipped out of the elevator, scanning the area.

"Okay...this looks like something straight out of a horror movie. Shouldn't there be some undead nurses or at least a secretary or two?" Nick asked.

"Be glad that isn't the case. Come on, before something else happens." Saya muttered, this time looking around carefully before walking off. They walked across the front desk, seeing the LCD flat screen above it displaying the news, there had been a bit of blood smeared on the side of the screen, but the subtitles were still visible. Hinata paused briefly to read some of what was being said.

" _The death toll has now risen to 2,000,000 here in Japan, in the four days that this virus has struck the planet. The entire Japanese Diet has had a shift of power in the last 96 hours, all of the Prime Ministers have fallen to the infection, and we are now in a state of national unrest as the final member of the Diet succumbed to the infection. The United States of America has also suffered losses, as half of the Presidents Cabinet has been confirmed dead with the crash of Air Force One. The Secretary of the Department of Energy is now the new President of the United States. Beijing has fallen, the towering infernos that started three days prior destroyed the entire capital city. Moscow is currently in the dark as they have lost all sources of power and most of the European nations have also fallen to turmoil._

 _In a shocking twist, London, the city that had their situation under control has suffered the loss of their Queen, after being infected by bite which she received from her young grandson. Big Ben had to be shut down to the sounds of the iconic monument attracting massive hordes of Murder Case victims. The Eiffel Tower in Paris has also been turned into a refugee camp, and those trying to escape the virus are being welcomed there, though they are going through through body searches and all infected victims are being shot on sight by French Soldiers. The President of Mexico has also decided to open the borders of his country to those fleeing south from The United States and Canada. That is all we have for the current news, we will continue providing coverage for as long as we can. Alicia Maresato signing out!"_

"Jesus Christ, it truly is the end of the world as we know it." Hinata muttered dryly. Another thing that caught his eye was the woman's last name. She looked oddly familiar, now that he thought about it, he recognized her as the woman on the bridge, who was reporting on the riots that had started up on the other side of Onebetsu bridge. Oddly, enough, she resembled Alice, down to the hair color. His eyes widened a bit, but he didn't dare say anything. That girl had already lost her father, and her mother was still out there, not even aware of her husbands death. This was something he needed to talk to Saya about, but at a later time.

"Did you see that? Air Force One crashed...man what a day, I never thought I would see that happen in my lifetime." Nick said. Everyone knew how well built the President's plane truly was, but to hear that even it wasn't spared from this, it made them realize that nothing in this world was safe anymore.

"All it took for the entire world to be like this was 96 hours, I'm scared to think what will happen at the end of the week." Saya muttered.

"It'll be alright big sis! We'll be just fine!" Savannah said happily, a smile on her face. Saya grinned, patting her head.

"You're right. Let's hurry up and get outta here...the smell of rubbing alcohol and blood is really making me sick." she said.

"Speaking of that, if you find any medical supplies, stock up on it, we might need it for down the road." Hinata said firmly.

"Huehuehue, alright...hospital socks here we come!" Nick exclaimed happily, holding his gun in the air. Saya groaned, deciding to ignore the teen for the umpteenth time. They moved across the second floor, taking the stairs that would lead them up to the third. The hallway spanned over the counters of the second floor, a few examination rooms being to their left. Hinata walked into the first one, stabbing the only Freak in the head with his bayonet. He walked over to the drawers and threw them open, seeing several things inside, rolls of medical tape, gauze, iodine solution, cleaning swabs, the works. He grabbed a couple of patient belonging bags and started filling them up with the new supplies.

"Savannah, come here a sec." he called out, the little redhead walked into the room, a firm look on her face.

"Something wrong Mr. Hinata?" she asked.

"No, your backpack is the least full out of all of us, so I'm going to fill it with medical supplies. You'll be our first aid kid from now on, so guard this stuff with your life, got it?" he asked. She giggled, giving him a salute.

"Yes sir!"

He topped the first bag off, shoving it in her backpack, before opening the overhead drawers, not finding anything inside them. He walked out of the room and headed toward the next one, emptying it of supplies as well. Once he deemed he had enough, the two met up with Nick and Saya who were keeping guard by the stairwell. They moved up to the fourth floor, which turned out to be the ICU. They did a quick sweep of the floor, seeing all of the examination rooms had been sealed off with yellow caution tape. Some of the doors had been closed, the blood smeared on the thick glass. Hinata wordlessly made his way inside one of the rooms, seeing a Freak that had been tied down onto his bed, struggling to break free. He ignored it completely, grabbing the three IV bags that had been set on the back counter, along with all of the tubes and needles he could. He stuffed them into Savannah's back, the girl struggling a bit with the weight.

"Uh, are you sure it's a good idea to over stuff that bag with stuff?" Saya asked.

"She needs to get used to this sort of stuff." he said.

"But it will slow her down. Here, let's swap packs." the pinkette said, shrugging off her small anime bag, taking the black backpack from the little girl. Hinata shrugged, instead handing her a couple extra things he had found. Nick slammed the butt of his shotgun onto the Freak's head, killing it instantly.

"He was pissing me off." was his reply, when the others looked at him. Once done, the four moved out of the room, picking up a few extra IV bags and tubes.

"So, I think we're done with the medical supplies. We've got enough to run our own goddamn store, and this stuff is seriously heavy." Saya said.

"You won't be saying that when you have sepsis and don't have the IV fluids you need." Hinata said.

"You need Penicillin and Ampicillin to take care of sepsis retard, we can't get that shit here. All of it would be locked up and without a nurse, we wouldn't be able to open the carts carrying it." Saya snapped.

"That's true...sorry Saya, I wasn't thinking. If we had access to those kinds of antibiotics, we would be golden. Maybe we can raid a pharmacy or something, get ourselves some narcotics in case we need them." He said.

"If all the druggies left them behind that is." Nick added, earning himself a glare from the two, and a confused look from Savannah. They decided not to explain. They moved onto the stairwell, heading up to the fifth floor. Entering the fifth floor, the heard absolutely nothing, the eerily quiet halls were thick with silence that none of them wanted to disturb. Saya decided to tread into the hallway first, scanning the area for Freaks, surprised to see none around. They walked silently into the room, seeing the large windows that peeked into another room, which was filled with incubators and cribs.

"Jesus Christ, the Nursery." Nick muttered under his breath.

"Just don't look." Hinata said, trying not to look at a few incubators smeared with crimson blood. They walked past the double doors, seeing a trail of blood leading toward the center of the room. The Child Delivery rooms were up ahead, and all of them hoped not to see any undead pregnant women in there. Reaching the nurse station, they all stopped when they heard a soft growl behind them. Slowly turning around, they saw something that they would never forget.

Crawling on the ground, was a newborn child. Its skin was deathly pale, the same color as the Freaks they had been taking down for the last few days. Its little hands were covered in blood, as it tried to crawl toward the source of the noise. Nick took a step back, hitting the desk behind him, sending several jars of pens and other things tumbling to the ground. Several other growls filled their ears, and they turned around, seeing five more infants, weakly dragging themselves toward the source of the noise. Nick broke into a sprint, passing through the wooden doors. None of them blamed him for doing so, and briskly followed in his footsteps.

The stairs leading to the seventh floor had been blocked with chairs and desks, barring their way up. It's not as if they wanted keep going up anyway. They walked into the empty hallway, seeing all of the patient rooms, the doors closed firmly, some smeared with blood.

"Alright, there should be another stairwell across this hallway, maybe we could even get access to the staff elevators and take them down to triage." Saya suggested, earning nods of approval from her friends. They silently made their way across the sixth floor, passing by the nurse station. Nick stopped briefly to grab a cup of water before they kept going. Turning the corner, they saw several Freaks shambling around, some being nurses, while others were patients. One man still had his IV hooked into his arm, and had been dragging the long tube throughout the area, blood spilling onto the ground. He was about to turn back when Saya pointed to the sign above them, which had a white arrow, the word exit being written in bold letters. He gave her a nod and grabbed his rifle, pulling the bolt back.

Thanks to his scope, he was able to pick them off as quietly as he could, though the sound of dropping bodies still made sounds, attracting more attention to the bodies. After all of the Freaks had been taken care off, they carefully walked over the bodies, heading toward the stairwell that would take them back downstairs.

"Hey Nick, are you alright?" Hinata asked quietly.

"How the hell am I supposed to reply to that Hinata? I just saw undead babies... _babies_. Innocent creatures that didn't need to be put through this, were crawling around, trying to find food, our flesh, even though they can't even bite us. What the fuck do you want me to say to that?" he asked firmly.

"Listen man, I understand you wholeheartedly. It took everything in my power not to stomp their heads in. I saw them as a threat, but I also saw them as babies, defenseless newborns. I couldn't bring myself to end their lives. It's taking everything in me not to go back up there." he said firmly.

"It'll be alright, let's just hope God accepted their souls into heaven." Savannah said, her eyes soaked with tears. She had seen a lot of horrible things, but seeing undead newborns had been the turning point. She didn't even know what to think anymore. She earned a dry chuckle from Saya, who spat at the wall, her grip on her shotgun tighter than ever. They were surprised the thing didn't snap from how hard she was squeezing it.

"God? After all of this bullshit you still believe in him? Don't make me laugh, there is no God alive able to do _that_ to innocent children. What God does that to his creation? What God puts us human beings through all this hell? For what reason? We may be animalistic, barbaric and down right cruel, but calling all of this divine punishment? Jesus Christ, don't make me laugh. God is dead, just like those undead fucks outside!" She cried angrily.

"Big sis...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to piss you off." Savannah said, wiping her eyes.

"It isn't your fault, I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm sorry kiddo." she said, taking a deep breath.

Another twenty minutes passed by, and they finally made it back down to the first floor. They exited from the southern stairwell, and walked up a thankfully empty hallway. Finding their way back to the main hall, they were glad to find themselves on the other side of the barricade. They kept walking forward, passing through a set of doors that lead them to the emergency area. Their eyes widened in shock when they saw the amount of dead bodies piled up all over the floor. The once brown carpet was forever stained crimson from the amount of blood that had been spilled on it. All of the bodies were littered with bullet holes, blood dripping from the back wall where most of those bullets had impacted. Nick looked at some of the bodies, his eyes almost popping out of his skull.

"These aren't Freaks...they straight up shot people. I don't see any bite marks either." He said.

"Great, just what we needed. This was probably the Self Defense Force, too many people to save, might as well thin the numbers out. Fucking pricks." Saya snapped angrily.

"Let's just get out of here. This bloody hospital is giving me nightmares." Savannah said. All of them agreed with the little girl, wanting to get the hell out of there as fast as humanly possible. They finally made it outside, now being at the Emergency entrance. Hinata quickly cleared the area of Freaks, not wanting to attract any attention to themselves. Saya looked around, a look of relief on her face.

"Look, I can see my house from here." she said, pointing to the big mansion at the top of the hill. Nick looked closely at it, jaw dropping.

"Wait...your the one that lives at the top of that hill?" he asked.

"Duh, I told you this early today when we decided to head there first. Did you already forget you retard?" she snapped.

"No, I just thought someone else lived in that house. Bitch!"

"Whatever, let's just find an ambulance and get out of here." Hinata said, replacing his spent magazine. They nodded, and started searching the area for a suitable one. Saya found one parked by the back of the hospital, the flashing lights still on, thankfully there weren't any body bags or anything laying around it.

"Over here, let's get in." She said, throwing the passenger door open. Nick and Savannah climbed into the bag, closing the doors after themselves. Hinata got into the driver's seat, surprised to see the keys still in the ignition.

"Man, it must have really been a busy day for these poor saps." he said, turning the key. The engine stalled, making him sigh.

"Of course." he muttered dryly. He tried it again, only for it to stall.

"It might be the fact that these lights were left on for who knows how long. We'll need a jump start." Nick said.

"How the hell do you propose we go about doing that? Where the hell would we even get jumper cables?" Saya asked firmly. He grinned.

"Let me ask you a question, is it better to be Smart? Or Lucky?" He asked, making Hinata perk up a bit. The girl chuckled, shaking her head.

"Smart obviously. Why bring superstition into this?" she asked.

"Well then, guess you'll have to rely on your smarts in this new world Miss Takagi, I'll just bank on my luck instead." he said, giving her a wink. He opened the side door, hopping out of the ambulance. He raced over to an abandoned car, the hood having been open. A pair of cables stuck out from the top, which he quickly pull off. Looking around, he spotted an abandoned Police car, and moved toward it, throwing the door open.

"He's insane." Saya muttered dryly. Hinata chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, he's lucky. The bastard...can't believe he used my question against you, very nice!" he said with a grin. The police car roared to life, as the brown haired young man pulled up in front of the ambulance. He shut the engine off and stepped out of the car, popping the hood of the car. Hinata stepped out of the ambulance, having already popped its hood.

"See, it is better to be lucky!" Nick said, handing Hinata the other end of the cables.

"Yeah yeah, let's just hurry up here, before the rain picks up." he said, quickly attaching the cables onto the battery. Nick finished hooking the cables on his end and climbed back into the police car. He turned his on first, allowing Hinata to climb back into the ambulance. He took a deep breath, reaching for the keys.

"Here we go!" he said firmly, turning the key. The ambulance roared to life, and he revved the engine a couple of times, the sound echoing through the area. Nick disconnected the cables, wrapping them up and shoving them in his pack, slamming the hood closed before climbing back into the back.

"Alright man, take us home!"

"Sure thing, Saya I need directions." he said, shifting to drive.

"Just go, I'll tell you where to turn." she said. He nodded and drove off, avoiding the police car as they drove out of Mercy Hospital, the red and white lights brightening up the streets as they drove on.

"What time is it?" Savannah asked tiredly, having already buckled her seat belt. Hinata peeked at the clock on the console, glancing at her from the rear view mirror.

"It's 4:47AM sweetheart. Go ahead and sleep, you deserve it." He said. She yawned her eyes drooping closed before she could even say anything. He smiled brightly.

"She's a little trooper, and she's proven she can defend herself in a situation like this. Poor kid, having lost her parents so young..." he muttered.

"She'll be fine...she has us to take care of her now. Just focus on driving, we'll make it soon enough." Saya said, a warm smile on her face.

"Yo, who ripped ass in here? It smells like shit!"

"Shut the fuck up Nick!" the two cried out.

xxx

Kohta and Takashi hadn't slept a wink, not since their friends had taken off. In a surprise twist of fate, the people that found them was actually Saya's mother, Yuriko Takagi. She had been surprised to see armed high school students, a school nurse and a little girl with her puppy, but she had welcomed them into her home with arms wide open. Takashi had explained to her that three of their friends had distracted _them_ in order to give them enough time to jump the fence, and when he had told her Saya had been one of those people, her smile turned into a frown.

Everything had only gotten worse in the 24 hours since their separation. World wide, everything had gotten worse than it already was, and on more local news, reports of a typhoon had the survivor colony scrambling around to secure the tents, though if the coach buses were any indication, it told the two that this camp wouldn't be around for much longer.

It also told them that Yuriko and her husband were willing to leave their daughter behind for the sake of survival. It was the Right Wing mentality that the two of them had grown to detest over the years. While everyone else was sleeping soundly ignoring the bullshit around them, they had remained awake, searching the horizon for any sign of their friends arrival.

Over the time that they had spent there, they rapidly learned of how everyone was treating the teenagers. There were other high school kids in the camp with them, survivors from Fujimi, Tokunosu West Academy, Tokunosu Public Highschool, even kids from the middle school had been gathered there, either orphaned by the virus or missing a parent. Whatever the case no one listened to them and their ideas, if they adults were talking, they wanted the kids out of it, and it was something that was starting to piss Takashi off. That mentality was going to be the downfall of this camp, he already knew it. He had almost fallen asleep when Kohta shook his shoulder.

"Look there, do you see those lights?" He asked, making the teen stand up. He didn't have his shotgun so he couldn't use it's sight as a means to look into the distance, and Kohta had the only other pair of binoculars. It was a few hours until sunrise, but the skies were already starting to get lighter. Kohta had been right, red and white lights were coming at them from the horizon, coming from behind the Takagi Estate. He leaned against the railing, cupping his hands over his eyes.

"I see it...they look like...the lights of an ambulance." he said. Kohta leaned further over the railing, his frown turning into a grin.

"You're right, it's an ambulance, and look who's driving it." He said, handing the spiky haired teen the binoculars. Takashi took a look through them, looking right at the drivers seat, only to see his friend Hinata. He had a tired look on his face, and was covered in blood, but seemed to look relieved when he spotted them. Takashi looked down at the guards that were walking around, gaining their attention.

"Hey, open the gate, our friends are driving up here." he said firmly. One of the guards chuckled.

"Sure kid, we'll just open up the gates for everyone that you spot." the man said firmly. The ambulance had already come to a full stop in front of the gates, the men not even noticing it, at least until her voice filled their ears.

" _You dumb fucks better open this gate or I'll swear to Christ I'll pump you full of 25 odd buck!"_ Saya's voice cried, through the ambulance speakers. The men dropped their rifles, running straight toward the iron gates. They didn't even hesitate to open them, allowing the ambulance to drive into the back courtyard. As soon as it pulled over, the thing ended up croaking, it's engine bursting into black smoke and steam. Hinata jumped out of the driver's seat first, placing his backpack on, his rifle in his hands. Saya stepped out of the passengers side, still holding the Ithaca in her hands. Nick popped out from the side door, followed by a redheaded little girl they hadn't seen before.

"What the hell?" Kohta muttered.

"Lets get down there." Takashi said, turning around, quickly finding the stairs that would lead down to the courtyard.

"Wow big sis, this house is huge. Do you live here by yourself?" Savannah asked, looking at Saya.

"Most of the time, the rest of the time I stay at the school dormitory. It's more cozy there than here." She said firmly. Hinata decided to ignore that comment.

"You kids are insane, stealing an ambulance...and where did you get that rifle? Do you even know how to use it? And those shotguns?" the guard said firmly. Hinata looked at him, a pissed off look on his face.

"I know how to use it, we all know how to use our guns and if you think we're gonna hand them over than you can fuck yourself. I have gone through hell and back in the last 24 hours for you to come take the shit that I found and earned." he said firmly.

"You heard him Mr. Corriea, we're keeping our guns, and if anyone asks us to hand them over again, I will personally deal with it. Now close the gates and get out of my sight." Saya snapped angrily.

"Y-yes ma'am." the guard said, quickly running toward the gate. The pinkette sighed.

"That's why I didn't want to come here...but oh well...now that we're here, how about we all take a nice long shower?" she said, kneeling in front of Savannah who gave her a nod.

"Yes please, I want to peel these clothes off my body already." She said.

"Wait..you want us to shower with you too? But you're girls." Nick said.

"Actually, when I meant all, I meant me, Savannah and Hinata, there's a hose in the back yard you can use to wash up." the girl said, a smirk on her face.

"Ha ha, I'm laughing so hard!" Nick said, an emotionless tone leaving his mouth.

"I don't know how comfortable I feel about bathing with two girls in the same room, sorry Saya but I'll wait." Hinata said firmly. The pinkette seemed a bit hurt at that comment, but shook it off.

"Hinata, Saya, Nick, so glad to see you guys are alright." Takashi said, stopping in front of his friends.

"Hey man, how ya holding up?" Hinata said, giving his friend a grin.

"Better than you would expect. You scared the shit out of us with that grenade man, we thought all of you were dead. What's wrong with you?" he snapped. Hinata chuckled.

"Well, you needed a distraction and saw my chance. You will not believe the shit we went through tonight, but first, Kohta, do you think you can clean my rifle? The suppressor made it really nasty." he said, handing the young man the AR-15.

"Of course, it would be an honor. And who might you be?" Kohta asked, fixing his glasses as he looked at Savannah, who hid behind Saya.

"Her name is Savannah Westershire, we saved her from a warehouse near the Jewelry store we took refuge in. All of us just came from Mercy Hospital, if the ambulance wasn't indication enough." he said.

"You guys...went through the hospital? We heard Mrs. Takagi say that place was a dead zone." Takashi said.

"Oh it was, trust me...zombie babies and all." Saya said, clamping her hand over her mouth after she said it. Everyone went silent after that.

"Um...anyway, we were able to procure tons of medical supplies, IV bags, tubes and syringes in case we ever need them. There was also a surplus of ammunition, which we were able to collect. We also recovered a Beretta M9 from the dead soldier, which is now Savannah's gun. I sort of traded her for this 1911 .45 ACP." he said, pulling his side arm from his holster. Kohta let out a childish cry as he took the gun from his hand.

"This is the carry gun of the British Royal Marines, it's been in service since its creation back in 1911, and it's gotten so many companies making it as well. What a beautiful gun." he said.

"I also got this Colt Detective Special, chambered in .32 and .38 special." Hinata said, showing the teen the gun.

"You are awesome, I can't believe you were able to get all of these amazing guns, I'll clean them for you all right away, including your shotguns." He said, looking at Saya and Nick, who gladly handed them over.

"Come on, I really need to get this blood and shit off myself." Saya said.

"Shit? What do you mean shit?" Takashi asked curiously.

"Don't worry about it." Hinata answered with a shrug, not wanting to talk about it either. Nick chuckled, running after Saya.

"Hey Saya, you have a turd on your shoulder!"

"Fuck off!"


	9. Trouble in Paradise

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 9

Trouble in Paradise

It had been two days since Hinata had arrived at the Takagi Estate, though he had spent an entire day sleeping due to his journey through Mercy Hospital. When he awoke, he found Savannah hugging his arm tightly, her eyes soaked in tears, her face being one of fear. She had been muttering things in her sleep as well, calling out for her parents, for her friend Janie who was most likely like the rest of the world. It had been a little hard for him to get used to, but the girl had slept peacefully after that. The time he had been awake was split between checking on his cousin, since she was still injured from the slam she took, and being pissed off at how the adults treated the teenagers. He had spent some time with Kohta as well, having taken the chance to learn all he could about his rifle and his 1911, including how to take it apart and clean it in case the gunman wasn't around to help him. He had been thoroughly entertained.

Ever since he had gotten his guns back though, he had been walking around the house with them, the handle of his 1911 hung out of his police belt, along with a few magazines he had in his pockets. Lastly, his rifle was slung across his back, the barrel aiming down, he had taken the suppressor off, having placed it in his back pocket, the zip ties sticking out of his pocket a tad, due to the flashlight he had fashioned onto it. It was safe to say that all of the people in the camp felt unnerved at the sight of a heavily armed teen. While Takashi had advised against it, Saya had encouraged him, and had even walked around with the Ithaca around her shoulder, giving death glares at all of the people that looked her way.

However, now he was sitting in Rei's bedroom, the girl having just had some pain relieving lotion rubbed on her back, thanks to Shizuka. Alice and Savannah had been playing with Zero, both girl's being ecstatic that they had someone around their same age to talk to and play with, and it brought a smile to his face seeing both girl's running around and acting like kids, instead of acting like murderers, though that statement was less true for Alice than it was for Savannah. All four of them, Saya, Nick, Savannah and himself were still recovering from the grim stuff they witnessed in Mercy Hospital, and even though two days had passed since that time, they couldn't bring themselves to talk about it in detail, the only thing their friends knew, was that they saw Newborn Freaks, and that they had stormed out of that area and never looked back. The look of shock and horror on Savannah and Saya's faces when they were talking about it was enough for Takashi to tell them to stop, and they hadn't broached the matter further.

His cousin was laying on her stomach, using only a towel to cover her behind, as she was fully naked underneath. Her back was still glistening with the lotion that had just been applied to it, and she had a pissed off look on her face. Her hair had been pulled around her neck, as to not be smeared by the lotion she had been forced into using. She had a bored look on her face, as she used her hand to prop her head, looking at the wall ahead with little interest.

"This is bad. We don't have much time until this place goes to hell." he muttered.

"What makes you so sure it is?" Rei asked, from her spot on the bed, he looked up at the brunette, a frown on his face.

"You've been stuck in here most of your stay right? You haven't actually seen how the kids are being treated. There are other Highschool Kids here, trying to voice their opinions, but their being shut down, as if they didn't matter. Just earlier, I got swarmed by five of them, demanding I hand over my guns." he said.

"What do you expect? They see someone like you and me flashing a high caliber rifle, and they go after us. It is how it is. Luckily for us, we don't have to listen to them." She said.

"I know..but how long do you think Paradise will last? We need Power and Water..the Power Stations wont run without workers. How long until they leave their posts?" he asked.

"That's true. Its not like we can power it ourselves." She said, burying her face in her hands. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling, his back was staring to hurt from sitting on the floor, as well as all of the running he had done two nights prior.

"Is your back okay? You must be in a shitload of pain...If I had known, I would have stopped at a pharmacy and brought you back some pain meds." he said.

"I'll be fine for now. I can't lay on my back, and by boobs are killing me. Takashi had the bright idea to use them to balance a gun." she said.

"Man, that kid and his perversion. I got an idea..why not put a pillow underneath them? That way your not laying on a hard mattress. And don't lay on them to much, that will just make them go numb." he said.

"I'll do that, thanks. Don't look."

"Don't worry, I was about to talk with Takashi anyway." he said standing up, and heading out to the patio connected to the room. Takashi, Nick and Shizuka were there, the latter two deep in conversation about a movie they had watched, and the former was looking around at the people below. Hinata leaned against the railing.

"What are your thoughts about this place?" Takashi asked. Hinata looked around, seeing all of the people that had been lead there. A few were arguing for some reason or another. He clicked his tongue.

"It won't last." he said.

"What makes you say that? There's fences all around." Nick said, breaking his conversation with Shizuka.

"Fences are good and all, but if they pile up against them, they will come down. Sorry to say, but there are more of them than us at the moment. Which is why I propose an early leave." he said.

"Leave? But this place is awesome. Saya has a Game Room here." Nick said.

"Games aren't going to save your life. Don't you want to live? Don't you want what's best for your friends?" He snapped, glaring at the brown haired teen, who stiffened a bit, thinking about Savannah. He felt ashamed at thinking so selfishly, instead of having started thinking about everyone else around him instead.

"We got kids with us, I want whats best for them. Besides, I already promised Rei I'd help search for my uncle and my aunt, and I can't leave without my mother either. I was planning on running into town soon." he said.

"I'm not letting you do that."

Hinata turned around, locking eyes with his pink haired friend. She had her arms crossed, clearly annoyed. She was wearing a beautiful dress, with a white long sleeved ruffled shirt, which had intricate embroidery all around it. Small flowers made out of black thread had been added as well, giving the top a bit of color, she had her collar folded down, a thin red ribbon tied around her neck. The black skirt was ever as beautiful as the top, with it reaching down past her knees, with a ruffled hem that was decorated with white thread. It had layered ruffles on it, with more complex designs sown into it. She was also wearing knee high black boots, similar to the ones Saeko was wearing, with a slight heel and black laces firmly tied into a bow. She had the Ithaca slung around her shoulder, having gotten it back from Kohta after it had been cleaned. Takashi had been a little disappointed that the shotgun had fallen under her ownership, but she had proven her usefulness with it in more ways than one. To make up for it though, Hinata had given him the Colt Detective Special he had recovered. While he missed the firepower of the shotgun, he liked the revolver better, since it was smaller, easier to use and he knew where the bullets went, plus he could carry more ammunition in his pockets.

"You look beautiful." Hinata said, a slight blush on his cheeks. She smirked, pushing her glasses up her nose, a haughty look on her face.

"Thanks, but that's beside the point. I'm not letting you go on a wild goose chase. I understand Miyamoto wants to see her Mom and Dad, but at the moment, we can't just leave. We need a solid plan." She said.

"We need a leader too. We can't go willynilly anymore." Kohta muttered. Hinata looked around, seeing his friends and teammates all assembled. He nodded, looking at his friends.

"Alright then, let's talk inside. I want my cousin to hear this out too." he said firmly. All of them nodded, following him back into the room. Once all of them had been settled inside, Melanie and Nozomi included, Hinata decided to speak.

"Everyone, I'm sure you've all noticed our current situation." He said.

"Of course, have you seen how they are treating us? Jeez, these people really know how to piss me off." Melanie snapped angrily, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. She was still wearing her school uniform, her blazer having been cleaned since the last time he saw her. Nozomi similarly was wearing her uniform, though she had ditched the blazer entirely, instead choosing to wear her button down shirt.

"I've tried talking to the students from Tokunosu West Academy, but they all ignored me, their just like the adults..it's like their changing with them." Nozomi added.

"Great, then I'm not the only one that sees it. Ever since I set foot in this house, it's been like these. All these people, they don't give a shit about anything. They refuse to see reality, all of them hiding away in their tents, ranting about how a Right Wing Nationalist saved them, and how we advocate murder, the bastards, they don't know shit!" Saya snapped angrily, clenching her fists.

"I agree with that, all of these people..they look at us and see nothing but kids hyped up on violence. None of them know what it's like to walk down those streets, having to protect yourselves with high powered guns...none of them know what it was like surviving an entire night out there, scavenging for food like a goddamn hyena." Hinata said, glancing at his friends.

"Guys, I understand what you are feeling. But right now, we need to focus on what we are going to do." Takashi said, earning everyone's attention.

"That's right...we need do to focus on the matter at hand. You see for me though, I got two options. I could go with everyone here, my friends...or I could stay here with my parents. It's a hard choice after all, since I am a Takagi." Saya said firmly, an aloof tone in her voice.

"What are you talking about Saya? Why would that even be a choice, can't you...just...stick with...us?" Nick said, his words trailing off as the girl glared at him. She had done that quite a lot in the short time he had known her, but fort some reason, he felt goose bumps on his skin when he got that particular glare.

"I don't want to be here. My parents are powerful people, yet they didn't do anything to save us. When I was out there fighting for my life, they were thinking of securing places for themselves and all these people. He sent off people to secure power plants and water treatment facilities. He didn't care about me." She said, looking at the ground.

"Takagi, that's not true. You know it's not, your mom has been nothing but nice to all of us." Takashi said firmly.

"Take a look outside, and tell me what you see, if you don't realize it, then you don't have the _right_ to call me by my first name! They don't know...they don't know what I went through, getting out of the school, surviving out on the streets throughout the night, having to fight hordes of _them_. If they are so goddamn powerful then why the fuck didn't they send anyone to the school to find me? Why didn't they help me when I needed their help? Instead they just focused on saving as many people as they cold, fuck their daughter, she doesn't mean shit to them, she's most likely dead anyway!" she screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Shut up!" Takashi snapped, making the pinkette look at him eyes widened.

"Huh?"

"At least you know your parents are alive. Me and Rei don't know jack shit about our parents, and neither does Hinata. How do you think we all feel? How do you think we're taking this?" he shouted, taking a hold of the girl's shirt, literally lifting her off the ground.

"You think you have it so bad, but here you are acting like a fucking brat! You need to be more considerate of other people goddamn it!" he continued, shaking the girl so hard her glasses had come off, dropping softly to the ground.

"He had priorities. I'm not condoning what he did, but he must have figured, if things got bad, we'd need as much power as we could get. Imagine the streets filled with those things, but in absolute darkness. He'd want you to have a safe way of getting home. Besides, your Saya Takagi, you wouldn't die. You can't die." He said. Saya chuckled, a small smile on her face.

"Okay...I understand, you can set me down now." she said softly. Takashi, finally realizing what he had done, quickly set her down. He blushed, the adrenaline finally leaving his system.

"Sorry Saya...I was a little bit too rough on you." He said.

"Nonsense, I needed that reality check. I was being selfish, to you, Rei..and even you Hinata...I'm sorry." she said, bowing her head.

"Don't be sorry, own up to what you said and learn from those mistakes. It's the only thing we can do right now. I know my mother wouldn't bow down to these fucks, and neither would my aunt and uncle..their fine...as for Takashi's mom...if she's half the bad ass he is, then she definitely has the balls to survive. Which brings me to my second most important point, from here on we have to plot a course to our houses. Takashi, Rei your houses are closer to Saya's house than mine and Nozomi's, so we'll head there first. Melanie, you said your house is in a small cul-de-sac twenty minutes from Taiei Shopping Town correct?" He asked, pulling out the map he had recovered from Savannah's father.

"Yes, it's three blocks away from the Hanako Flower Shop." she replied, earning a nod from him. He looked at the map, quickly locating the flower shop. He followed the street, easily finding the cul-de-sac her house was located in. He circled it, tracing a line all the way to the shopping mall. He had already circled the areas belonging to his and Nozomi's house, along with the areas where Rei and Takashi's houses were. He nodded, looking at the map.

"We all seem to be in the same area, all around the elementary school, we're all six blocks from each other, that's gonna make it hard." Hinata said.

"How so?" Nick asked curiously.

"Well think about it, if we go to Takashi and Rei's house first, we'll have to double back to Melanie's, and then double back to Hinata and Nozomi's..that's counterproductive and it will tire us out. We'll need to figure out a way to check all of the houses at the same time. Plus we still have to check the East Police Station, in case Rei and Hinata's parents are there." Kohta said, taking the map from Hinata.

"I suppose you got a point. It will be way harder, especially with _them_ all around us." Saeko added, her arms crossed. She had been wearing a kimono ever since coming to Saya's house, and Hinata had to admit, she looked really good in it, if not a little weird, since he was used to seeing her in her school uniform.

"Well, ammunition won't be an issue, for now at least. The Special Defense Forces have secured several locations of interest, and left some supplies behind, supplies that we put to good use on our journey to the hospital. I'm willing to be there are others out there as well, but we shouldn't rely on them alone." Hinata said, placing a finger on his chin.

"What exactly are you talking about?" Melanie asked, brow raised in curiosity.

"Well, I'm talking about for after we find our family. The fuck are we gonna do then? It's not like we can just find a hotel and stay there for the rest of lives. We gotta get out of Tokunosu, the faster the better. Thing is there aren't any rural areas for kilometers, and that will make it harder for us. I was thinking we could go to the Yamanashi Prefecture, Mt. Fuji is nice this time of year." he said, a smirk on his face.

"You're...you're serious...you want to go to Mt. Fuji? The fuck for?" the blonde asked curiously.

"Well, for one, I don't think the Freaks can climb mountains, too we can hunt the local wild life, three, we can definitely secure the area especially since we'll be two hours from Tokyo. We can always grab all the supplies we need and haul them up there. And there's a lake nearby so we can use the water there for our daily needs, and if we don't find food, we can always go fishing. It's the perfect place to hole up, at least for awhile." He said.

"Natural protection from _them_ , local wild life to survive on, and fertile area to grow crops...I'm surprised you came up with a plan like that." Saya said firmly, impressed with her friend.

"He was actually coming up with that for awhile, since we left Tokunosu West Academy, in fact." Nozomi said, gaining everyone's attention.

"Really? You must be having a field day." Rei quipped, glancing at her cousin, who gave her a grin.

"Course I am, I blew up two gas stations, so it's been a good week." he said simply.

The sudden sound of engines filled their ears, making all of them look to the balcony Savannah and Alice decided to go check it out, while the others slowly started heading onto the landing. Hinata looked towards the gates, which automatically opened. A sleek black car slowly made its way in, followed by an entire convoy of black cars, one pick up truck having a large cage in the bed, with what looked like a Freak inside it.

"Is that?" Kohta asked. Saya nodded, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"Yeah, that's the Don of this Prefectures Ultra-Nationalist Organization. He alone determines whats right and what's wrong. My Dad."

Everyone remained silent, watching the convoy as they slowly pulled up the front of the house, stopping right next to the large fountain in the center of the courtyard.

A tall man walked forward, passing through a large crowd of on lookers. He stood in front of the large fountain. He was wearing a freshly pressed military suit, with golden buttons on either side. The suit, while being fancier than a normal military garb, was decorated with many pins and metals, all glistening in the sunlight. Every stitch was pronounced, ever wrinkle ironed out, this suit was like a second skin for this man, one that showed just how powerful he truly was. Around his waist was a brown sheath, decorated with fine gold lining and intricate designs etched into it with precision and care. The handle of the katana was wrapped around in maroon colored leather ribbon, tightly bound around it, held down with a thick golden thread, that seemed to be woven from the finest of silks.

They wheeled a cage in front of him. Inside was a Freak, he was gray skinned, had greasy black hair down over his unfocused eyes, his face surprisingly free of blood. He was dressed in a black suit, similar to the ones the guards had been wearing, they were the uniforms that represented the Right Wing Nationalist party. A few people backed away from the cage, fearing that the lock would snap and the Freak inside would race out of the cage, the feral look on his face told it all.

"This man's name is Doiteru Tarou. He has been a friend to me and my family for the last 25 five years. In attempting to save a junior officer, he was bitten. He is no longer human, his life ended when he turned into this abominable thing." the man spoke, his voice booming with authority. Everyone who was watching was frozen in place, watching as the man reached for his sword, drawing it with ease, making the blade sing a beautiful song, a song of power and grace, a song that had taken down hundreds of Freaks with ease.

"It was an act of self sacrifice, this is the most noble thing a person could hope to do." the man continued, holding the blade tightly in his gloved hands. The men guarding the cage, trembled a bit as they watched the Freak moving around inside, hoping the bars would hold the barrage of pounding and tackles it was receiving.

"And so...I will demonstrate my friendship." he said, holding his Katana over head. One of the workers opened the cage, and the infected lunged for him. The man swung his sword down on its neck, taking his head clean off.

"Farewell, My friend." he said, slamming his boot onto the severed head. Brain matter splattered all over the floor. A few people let out screams of fear and shock. All Hinata could do was watch, watch and swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. He was trembling a bit, not in fear, but in anger. He didn't understand what this man was trying to do, but forcing those people to see cold hard reality wasn't the solution.

"This is the kind of thing that makes up our here and now. This is what the world has become. Great friends, family members, and loved ones are becoming them. If you wish to survive...you must fight." he said firmly.

"Even after all these years, Soichiro Takagi scares the shit out of me." Takashi muttered dryly under his breath. Saya sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"Now you see what we're dealing with? You still think he had the time to send someone to collect me from school?" she asked firmly, earning hardened looks from her friends.

"What the fuck does he think he's doing? Killing that Freak in front of all these people? That's just gonna come bite him in the ass. These guys...they haven't been through what we have, they don't know how to deal with that shit. They all believe their sick people, that isn't going to make them realize the gravity of the situation, that'll just make it worse." Hinata said, his grip on the railing tightening.

"Katana's aren't efficient enough." Kohta said.

"Don't comment on things you don't know Hirano." Saya replied.

"But its true, Japanese Swords dull after a few swings. And they can break if they hit bone. After a few swings, their useless." He said.

"Listen, following the way of the sword depends on several things. The sharpness of the blade, a warriors skill, the quality of his sword, and focus. If you have these things, any sword can be used a number of times without any consequences." Saeko said. Kohta scoffed, shaking his head. It was clear that his love of firearms was clouding his view on weaponry, and the opinions of his friends.

"But..you get blood and grease on it. Its like cooking." Kohta said. Saeko smirked.

"A good cook will never leave grease on a good knife. It goes the same for swords." she said.

"Hey, Hirano, it's okay." Takashi said.

"Don't touch me, and don't butt in, you don't even know how to use a shotgun!" he said, brushing his hand off.

"Hirano! You need to chill out." Saya cried. He grit his teeth and grabbed his guns. He then took off, running through the house. Takashi scoffed.

"What's his problem?"

"Its not his fault. This whole thing is getting to everyone, after all, your both boys." Saeko said.

"I know that already."

"Yes but..no..your opposite sides of the same coin." Saeko said firmly.

"I need to go talk to him. You guys are free to do whatever you wish, Takashi, if you are going to find your parents, then I suggest you suit up and get ready to leave." Saya said firmly, heading toward the doors. Hinata looked around the room briefly, following the pinkette out of the room.

"We need to find Hirano." Saya said, after realizing the black haired teen had been following her. He gave her a nod, matching her pace. He remained silent, not exactly knowing what to say. His hand was on the handle of his gun, ready to draw it if necessary, it had been something she had taken notice of in the two days after their trip to Mercy Hospital. Even now, that day was still fresh in her mind, she wanted to forget, but she knew she wouldn't forget it for the rest of her days.

"What do you think of all this?" She said, after a few minutes of silence. Hinata looked up at her, head tilted in curiosity.

"You mean that demonstration your father gave everyone? I don't agree with it, I mean...I've blown heads apart these past few days, and done a lot of crazy shit, but something like that? In front of children even...I dunno.." he said truthfully. Saya nodded, looking away from him.

"It's a real eye opener for them, but I think they do need this. It's hard to accept at first, but they have to if they want to survive, if not, they don't have a place in whatever my dad is planning. That's something he'd say I think." she said.

"That's definitely something he would say. I can already picture him saying it, that smug look on his face. I don't like him." he said, muttering the last part. Saya giggled, shaking her head.

"Yeah, not a lot of people do. I doubt that little show he put will do wonders for his nationalist party." she said.

"Man, what a mess. Did he go this way?" he asked, stopping at the entrance to the back garden.

"Don't know, but he has to be here somewhere around here. Man, that fatty annoys me so much sometimes." she said. He chuckled.

"Nothing you can't handle sweetie. If anyone can whip his ass into shape, it's you. I'll go look over here, you go over there, maybe he went to see the coy in your pond." he said.

"Perhaps...good luck, and don't call me sweetie or I'll slap you silly!" she said firmly, making him roll his eyes.

"Hey kid, what the hell do you think you're doing? Walking around here with so many weapons?" one man asked. Hinata gave him a once over. He looked like a Best Buy employee, most likely around his late thirties, with a thick five o'clock shadow, his eyes a little sunken in, dark rings around his eyes and chapped lips. His white tee shirt was smeared with a bit of blood, and he was holding a table leg in his hand. He kept walking like it was nothing, ignoring the man entirely, he didn't have the time to deal with their shit.

"Hey, I'm talking to you kid! Give me those guns! You don't need them." he said, touching his shoulder. Hinata spun on his heel and drew his 1911, pointing it to the guys forehead. Hinata had an emotionless look on his face, his eyes were shining a fierce blue color, a fire was burning intensely in them, making the man back away.

"What was that asshole? I don't need what?" he asked firmly, the animosity in his voice was enough to make everyone around them back away from him.

"Whoa man, take it easy."

"No, you take it easy _man_. I'm sick and fucking tired of seeing my friends be treated like crap because we're fucking younger. You don't know the shit that I have been through, the things that I have seen, the fucked up shit I have had to do to survive. I have these because I can use them. If I gave one of you my rifle, I bet you wouldn't be able to handle its kick back, hell I doubt you would be able to shoot anything worth a damn. So why don't you back off sailor? I'm not going to hesitate, I'll pull this trigger if I have too." he said. The man licked his lips, and backed away from him. Hinata kept his eyes on everyone around him, his grip on his gun not lessening a single bit.

He walked around for a while, not being able to find Kohta at all. He didn't know how long it had been, an hour or so at most, but then he heard it, a bit of commotion up ahead. Going out on a hunch, he decided to check it out. When he turned the corner, he saw Kohta, in the center of a group. They were Right-Wing Nationalists, and supporters of Soichiro Takagi. Said man was standing before Kohta, who was on the ground hugging his guns.

"D-Don, this kid thinks those guns are his personal toys." one of the men said.

"Boy, what is your name? I am Takagi Soichiro, leader of our patriotic organization." Soichiro barked.

"Hi..Hi..Hirano Kohta. Fujimi Highschool, Second Year, seat 32."

"Don't speak so boldly Hirano-kun. The fact that I had to come here personally is proof that you have caused a great deal of trouble." he said firmly.

"Dear..this boy..he's.." Yuriko said firmly, standing next to her husband, who gave her a firm nod.

"I know, he's from her class." the man said, cutting his wife off. She smiled.

"Oh Good."

"Why will you not hand over the guns?" Soichiro asked firmly, his eyes trained on the figure of the boy in front of him. In his eyes, he was a pathetic looking young man, with little strength for himself and very little self esteem, but if he was holding those guns tightly to himself, then that meant he could actually make a difference with them.

"No..No..without the guns, I'll go back to the way I was before. I don't want to be bullied! I don't want to go back, I thought I finally found something I'm good at." he wept, his glasses having fallen from his face, hanging onto his ears just barely.

"Such As?" The man asked.

" _Looks like I get to bail you out buddy. Oh, Takashi is here too, this aught to be good."_ Hinata thought. He walked forward, matching pace with Takashi, giving him a wordless nod.

"Such as protecting your daughter!" Takashi said firmly.

"Hm?" the man turned around, locking eyes with Takashi.

"K-Komuro." Kohta stuttered.

"I see, Komuro huh? I know your name, you have known Saya for a long time."

"Yes sir, but ever since this started, Saya's been...your daughter has been protected by Hirano here." he said.

"I can vouch for that. He's been teaching her how to shoot guns, and how to clean them. He was able to teach her how to survive, and got her out of the her school alive, something you weren't able to do." Hinata said firmly. Yuriko's eyes widened in surprise at the young man's bold statement. Soichiro however merely laughed it off, his booming laughter filling the entire courtyard.

"Who are you, young man? I don't believe we have met before."

"Hinata Miyamoto, son of Aiko Miyamoto of the Tokunosu Police Department. I attend Tokunosu West Academy, class 2-B seat 33." he said firmly.

"Miyamoto...ah yes, I remember you. You were the boy that survived an attempt at kidnapping and an attempt at rape, your father was killed in front of you was he not?" the man asked. Hinata grit his teeth, this man was most likely saying this out loud to get back at his earlier comment. Instead of saying anything, he just gave him a nod.

"I see you are also carrying around firearms, I take it you are well adept with them?"

"I am, just as much as Kohta is, we've both been keeping your daughter safe. He got her out of Fujimi alive, and I watched her back while we were walking through the city and scavenging for supplies at Mercy Hospital, she knows how to shoot and she's capable of defending herself, but that wouldn't have happened if Kohta here hadn't stepped up to the plate. Besides these guns aren't his, he's borrowing them from a friend, and I know for a fact she would be very pissed off if they were taken from him." he said firmly.

"Kohta!" Alice cried out, launching herself into the young man's arms, hugging him tightly. Shizuka and Rei joined them as well, the young woman leaning against the nurse, as she was still in pain. Nick was standing by her, in case she needed anything else. Nozomi quickly took her place next to Hinata, firmly looking at Soichiro. Melanie looked indifferent, but the fire in her eyes told her other wise.

"Even I can see how much courage he has..Don Takagi." Takashi said firmly, standing by his friend.

"And me too, Dad."

Soichiro watched his daughter joining her friend's side. The wind was softly blowing, ruffling their clothes as the small group all joined together, standing by their friend and family member. They all shared the same look of courage and determination, and in that moment, Soichiro Takagi knew, that he wasn't going to change their minds, especially if his own daughter stood by them.

"He maybe a useless gun otaku, but it's because of him that I'm still alive. I would also appreciate it if you never mention Hinata's father around any of my friends, especially his attempt at rape, he doesn't need to be reminded of that horrible night any longer. They've been keeping me safe, unlike you Dad." she said firmly. It was deathly quiet. The wind picked up, rolling in more storm clouds. A few water drops fell from the sky. Don Takagi chuckled, and then laughed.

"I see..this is your choice, I respect that. Men, he keeps the guns. Let it be known, that no one touches Hirano-kun's guns." he said.

"Y-yes sir." they all said saluting him. That was that, all of the men left, leaving Kohta to keep his guns. The wind started blowing harder and with it, drifted in more storm clouds. Low rumbles of thunder filled the area, making everyone look up at the sky.

"I am rather impressed with you Saya, choosing to side by your friends at a time like this, you have certainly grown as a woman, for that I commend you." Soichiro said firmly, looking at his daughter with a piercing look.

"Why wouldn't I choose them? They saved my ass, I couldn't turn on them." She said firmly.

"Which is why I have a request for you. These people, you've seen how they are turning a blind eye to everything around them. I want you to knock some sense into them, seeing as you have first hand experience. It will do them good to hear it from another person's point of view." the man said firmly.

"What makes you think they'll even listen to me?" Saya asked curiously, crossing her arms. The man chuckled, looking briefly at his wife who had a firm yet kind look on her face.

"They will listen to you. You are my daughter after all, if anyone can make them see reason, it's you!" he said firmly.

"Yeah but...why me? What do I gain from this?"

"If you do this Saya, then I know you aren't a fool." he replied. Hinata chuckled, catching the man's attention. By now, the rain had started to pick up a bit. A couple men raced toward the group, handing Yuriko and her husband a pair of umbrellas. They also handed one to Saya, who turned it down, handing it instead to Rei and Shizuka.

"I see what this is, it's like a test of some sort. You want to see if your daughter can instill the same mentality you advocate to these people. Hell, if you think she can change their minds, I'll go with her myself. I have a few choice words for them anyway." he said firmly.

"I'll go with her too, just for backup." Takashi said.

"Same here...after what you did for me, it's the least I can do." Kohta added.

"You can count me in as well." Saeko said, giving Saya a firm nod.

"Actually, I would like to speak to the daughter of Master Busujima. There are a few things I would like to discuss with you." Soichiro said, earning a curious look from the silent Samurai.

"I'll go in her place then! I've been dying to get out of bed for awhile." Rei said.

"No, you need to rest for now, get more cream on your back until the pain goes away. I can tell you are struggling to stand, even now." Hinata said firmly. She huffed, looking away from him.

"I can take care of myself you know, I don't need you to take care of the school yard bullies for me anymore!" she replied.

"Hey, I only beat that kid up because he was reaching up your skirt, you were ten years old, what was I supposed to do?" he asked curiously.

"You were ten too, no need to send him to the hospital. Thank god you actually stopped hitting him before he got too injured...alright fine, I'll get more cream on, but I am getting dressed." She said.

"That's fine. Take good care of her Shizuka."

"I will, don't you worry about that. Maybe we can do it without the need to be straddled this time?"

"Jeez, it's like you enjoy this." the auburn haired girl muttered dryly, allowing the nurse to take most of her weight as they made their way back inside.

"Can I come along too? I wanna be with Kohta-chan!" Alice said firmly.

"Me too, I wanna go with Alice." Savannah said.

"Actually girl's..why don't you come with me for a little while? I got a present for Zero!" Yuriko said, holding the umbrella out so that the two of them would be covered from the rain.

"A present? Okay, let's go with Auntie!" Alice said. Savannah however didn't move, looking at Hinata expectantly. He smiled, ruffling her hair.

"Go on, don't worry about your big brothers and sister, we'll just have a nice friendly chat with these folks and be right back." he said.

"Alright, if you say so Mr. Hinata. Don't forget, I have your back so if you need anything, just holler!" she said firmly, turning to follow Yuriko and Alice.

"She's acting like an adult and speaking like one too. Christ she's only eleven." Hinata muttered under his breath. Soichiro looked at him, a firm look on his face. He took notice of the scar that cut across his face, right over his eye and down to his cheek. It was an ugly thing, that hadn't healed properly, and looked more like a burn mark from how wide the cut had been. He was surprised the teen still had function of his eye.

"You rescued that little girl correct?" he asked, gaining his attention.

"After leaving the jewelry store we took refuge in, we ran into her while checking a warehouse for supplies. Her cries lead us right too her. She's an innocent little girl, orphaned due to these Freaks. Her father was in the Royal Marine Commandos, and showed her how to use handguns. She was in possession of my 1911 when we found her. Without her, we wouldn't have made it through those streets and through the hospital. She's one of my reasons to fight now, my reasons to want to stay alive, so that she can live a happy life in this shitty world of ours." he said firmly.

"I commend that Hinata-kun, you have certainly grown since we last met, all of those years ago. Your rough past served only to further your merits, I don't think I can leave my daughter more capable hands. Of course, this includes you as well Hirano-kun. Feel free to stay as long as you wish, and use all of our munitions if you need them." he said firmly. Spinning on his heel, he started walking off, Saeko silently following behind. Hinata looked back at Saya, who had been hiding the blush on her cheeks by looking at the ground and using her hair to block her face. He tilted his head in curiosity but shrugged it off.

"You ready to rock girl? We might as well get this shit done now." He said. She looked up at him, her glasses were dotted with a few water droplets, but she didn't seem to care at the moment.

"Let's go...that group over there seems like a good place to start." She said, pointing to one of the larger tents that had been stationed on the westernmost past of the yard.

"I am thankful that we were all saved, and brought here for our own safety. But the people here are savages." a black haired woman shouted. She was wearing a white shirt with flowers on it, as well as matching white pants. Several other survivors had surrounded her, listening to her words of wisdom.

"We're just normal citizens, not Right-Wing Nationalists."

"Yeah, we're just peace loving people who love our peaceful Japan."

"Showing us something like that was just indecent. We need to wait and see. The Government will have everything back to normal soon. They even have the support of the American Army. But we must wait until then.." the black haired woman continued.

"We don't need to be saved by the Self Defense Force, or the American Army. We don't need anything that will increase tensions in Asia." She shouted. One of Takagi's followers sighed. He wasn't getting paid enough to endure that shit. Upon seeing Saya Takagi and her gun toting friends though, his face changed from one of tiredness to one of being fully alert. He was already praying for those poor fools who were about to get a lashing from his boss's daughter.

"So, what exactly are we going to discuss with these people?" Hinata muttered quietly. He was unsure exactly what he was going to say, but he was sure Saya was more unsure than anyone of them. She looked up at him, a frown on her face.

"We have to convince them to see things the way my daddy sees them. Or else, they'll just be baggage. You get what I'm saying right?" she asked, earning a firm nod from the lad. He tightened his grip on his rifle strap, the suppressor hitting his leg every so often.

"I do, I understand you wholeheartedly. But sometimes, people have a hard time accepting things. They turned a blind eye to reality, hopefully we can convince them of something." he said, entering the tent. There were at least twenty five people in this tent, ranging from their early twenties to their mid fifties and everything in between. All of them had looks of worry and tiredness on their faces, though the more active ones in the group were near the front. The black haired woman who had been speaking earlier turned around at their presence, a scoff sliding past her lips.

"Well, what do you kids want?" she asked, rather rudely. To Hinata, she looked like the type to be barking orders at someone, whether as a manager of some store. Hinata sucked his teeth.

" _I bet her name is Heather...she looks like a Heather."_ he thought to himself, a little smile on his face.

"We came here to discuss a few things, regarding the state of things. We need you to see things our way." Saya said.

"Your way, and what is your way? Murder?" she asked. This made them all go wide eyed. They all shared looks with each other, gathering their thoughts, only for Hinata to speak next.

"Murder? Listen ma'am, we're not murdering people. _They're_ already dead, I saw it myself...back at Tokunosu West Academy, we attacked them in the heart, puncturing it all the way through, and they kept moving. That Murder Syndrome stuff, it's just something the government made up, to stop people from causing a panic." Hinata said firmly, looking at everyone in the tent.

"That's absurd, how can they already be dead? They wouldn't be moving if they weren't alive. That Murder syndrome is affecting them, the government will help us soon, so don't worry." the woman said, a bright smile on her face. Hinata could see the delusion in her eyes.

"I'm sorry to say lady, but the Government isn't going to help us soon. Now if you don't do what the Don said, you will die, that is certain." Takashi said.

"We won't die, its just a disease, and like all diseases, it will have a cure soon enough." someone said.

"Who the fuck told you that? Not all diseases have cures jackass, or else people wouldn't be dying of AIDS or cancer." Hinata snapped, instantly shutting up the man who had uttered that useless comment.

"How many times do we have to tell you, the Murder Syndrome story is total Bullshit. The Government can't arrive at a conclusion so they came up with that to stop chaos from spreading." Saya snapped.

"So, you're saying that dead bodies come back to life and attack the living? Don't be ridiculous." another man said.

"It does sound and look like a new epidemic. Didn't you see my fa..I mean Don Takagi's demonstration? I saw it at school, and in the city. I spent 24 hours out in the streets, fending for myself, and not once did I see any form of sentience coming from them. Nothing other than their hunger...they come at you in packs, take you down and don't stop. It doesn't matter where, even in the sewers, they are there. Christ, the hospital was fucking overrun, there were undead babies, _babies_...I can't even...can't you see that for yourselves?" Saya asked, a bit calmly. Hinata placed a hand on her shoulder, making her stiffen a bit. She relaxed a second later, glad that he was there with her. He slid his hand off her shoulder, only for her to take it into hers, slipping her fingers through his own. Kohta glanced at the two, a firm look on his face.

"You should have at least seen them get back up after they died." She continued.

"It is a little weird that they get back up, there has to be an explanation." one man said, losing himself in thought. He and a few others were racking their brains for an answer to that question.

"Yeah, the explanation is that they never died in the first place." the black haired woman snapped back. Saya clenched her fist.

"Excuse me, if that was the case then that'd be great and all. But that's not something an amateur can come up with on the spot. Until the specialists settle down and do some research, nothing can be found out." Hinata said, a cross look on his face. It was common sense at this point, yet these fools were still thinking this was some disease that had a cure.

"I'm sorry, but its not just possible, do you disagree?" Saya asked.

"W-well."

They remained silent, not knowing how to reply to the young woman. She smirked inwardly, feeling a little bit of pride swelling within her body. She took a few seconds to think up what she wanted to say, before finally speaking.

"You can't can you? Just focus on not becoming food for them alright? After all, my father said he doesn't know what to do with all of you, didn't he?" She asked, a haughty expression on her face. This however made the black haired woman scoff, a sudden realization hitting her like a ton of bricks. It was all the motivation she needed to rally her troops.

"Oh, that's really what you wanted to say? Now that I think about it, your just a bunch of high school kids, waving around a bunch of guns." She said.

"Its true. That girl is the daughter of a Right-Wing Gangster. She wants us to be violent, she wants us to kill. She's telling us that killing is okay. Listen everyone, that girl is the daughter of a killer. Don't let her turn you into killers too." she continued, her voice growing in height and firmness. Her arms were spread out, a fierce look in her eye, she was clearly using her voice to her advantage, as if she could taste the power she thought she had.

"Uh..what the hell are you talking about?" Takashi asked, clearly confused.

"Kids shouldn't interfere in the matters of adults." another man said.

"Hey Fuck You Asshole! We got just as much say in this world as you do." He snapped back, the spiky haired teen growing angrier by the second. He was about to lash at the man, until he felt Kohta's hand on his shoulder, a quiet head shake from him stopped Takashi in his tracks, forcing himself to simmer down a bit.

"Quiet, from now on, the adults are making decisions! We don't need help from Highschool kids high on violence, we need to band together and find a representative. We can't let them brainwash us into killing!" the black haired woman said, once again regaining hold of the people around her, all of them adopting a firm look on their faces, almost matching the woman's own.

"They must have played some violent video games. That's why they know how to use guns." another man said, tossing his two cents into the pot, that last comment seemed to piss Hinata off, though he didn't outwardly show it, he really wanted to pop a cap in that man's ass, maybe teach him what it's like to run from a horde of Freaks.

"Yeah, lets settle our differences and act together, we'll volunteer our time and then go talk to Don Takagi." she said.

"You're right. We have to solve our problems without resorting to violence."

"Volunteers! We can gather volunteers and together we help treat those with the killer disease. This will allow us to create a society of freedom. For the people." the woman said, a predatory look on her face. It looked almost desperate as she was trying and failing to hold onto what little sanity she had left within herself. She knew deep down that the world wasn't going to return to what it once was, but she wasn't about to give on that world, not for a single second. Without much left to say, Saya turned heel and walked out of the teen, letting go of Hinata's hand in the process. Takashi shook his head distastefully, being followed by Kohta who didn't acknowledge the people at all. Hinata however looked back at the black haired woman, his hand resting on his gun.

"Nice job guys, you really showed us. That's right, we're all nothing but kids high on violence, toting around big ass guns! It's alright though, keep up this mentality and I'm sure the government will help you. But if they don't, just remember...when you turn into a Freak, I'll be the one wiping your brains off my boot." he said firmly, his peppy speech turning dark at the end. The best part was that he said that with a sickly sweet grin on his face, with no hint of remorse. He spun on his heel, swiftly walking out of the tent, and back into the cold rain. He chuckled dryly to himself, feeling a rush of endorphins coursing through his body. There was always a sense of satisfaction when it came to pissing off adults, pissing off a group of adults only made it better.

"You did a great job Saya." Kohta said encouragingly. She chuckled and shook her head.

"That lady was like a Nazi, leading those people like that, Jesus...that was a disaster. I was expecting something, but nothing like that." she said, crossing her arms, a frown on her face.

"It's horrible, everything in the world went to shit. And those people are acting like idiots." Takashi said. They reached the front door and closed their umbrellas, shaking off a bit of the water that had gathered over the top. It wasn't long before Hinata joined them, hands shoved in his jacket pocket, a firm look on his face.

"It's because people view nationalist groups the same way they view the Yakuza." Kohta muttered.

"Well we're different. My Dad thinks in a more pallid way than Mishima Yokuo did. Right-Wing Activists and the Yakuza don't get along one bit, but they've done a lot of good things too." Saya said firmly, feeling the need to defend her father.

"But, don't they need money for that? When I think Right-wing nationalist, I picture people collecting protection money and that sort of thing." Kohta replied.

"Well, you seem to forget I'm a Genius."

"No, I think I get it now." he muttered.

"My Mom is a genius too. She used to be an excellent trader back in Wall Street, when she was returning home from a vacation, she met my father. They got married the next day. Since then, she uses those tricks only on him. After getting married, the family fortune increased a hundred fold."

"Incredible." He said, clearly impressed.

"Anyway, those people out there, are they out of their minds?" Takashi asked.

"Their turning their backs on reality." Hinata said firmly, finally speaking after being silent for a few minutes, trying to process what had just happened.

"It's normal human instinct to turn away from what you can't accept." Kohta said.

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me fatty?" Saya cried, holding her open palm up, making the portly boy shudder in fear. He shook his head, thinking on his feet.

"But i-it's true. Its easier to push it away than to face it head on." He said firmly. Saya settled down, sighing angrily.

"No one wants to admit their in denial. So even if something is happening..."

"They try to avoid it." Kohta finished, looking away from the pink haired girl.

"Y-yeah, guess we're stuck with this now." Takashi muttered dryly.

"Even then, the first thing on peoples minds is getting everything back to the way it was before. By any means necessary, even though it's hopeless, they can't help but think that way. I guess in a way, I used to think that way too, and I've thought about it a lot recently but...nevermind." Hinata said, looking at the dark clouds rolling in.

"If they can't see what's in front of them, then they can't see their own foolishness. Y-yeah..with everything that happened at school and all..I came to realize that." Kohta added. Saya smiled.

"I guess that changes how I see you." she said happily, making the young man blush a bit, though he hid it quite well. She looked up at Takashi, who was deep in thought. She smiled.

"You know, I think we're all learning something here." Takashi muttered, though it was still loud enough for his friends to hear it.

"And what would that be?" Hinata asked curiously, not understanding what she was saying.

"I guess its true." She said.

"What is? Sorry, its just an honest observation." Takashi said.

"Don't you think everyone else thinks the same?" She continued.

"It's probably true." Kohta said.

"I see it perfectly, If I do say so myself." Hinata added, now that he had the chance to think about what Saya had said, and how Takashi had replied to it.

"What already?" Takashi said, clearly annoyed.

"Did you forget already what we're talking about? We're talking about how you earned your spot as our leader."

"Huh?...What?"

"Oh man..this is great, still as clueless as eve I see. Glad that's a trait that you still have within you buddy." Hinata said, still chuckling though this only seemed to annoy Takashi more than he already was.

"I suppose this is it then, we should start planning our move. By the look of those large coach buses, it seems as if the Don doesn't intend on sticking around here for much longer. Maybe if we get our family members in time, we can come back and go with them, at least until we reach Mt. Fuji." Hinata said firmly.

"Sounds like a plan, I'll go upstairs to talk to Rei, I can tell you're all ready to go, so let's meet up when the rain lets up and we can head out." Takashi said, taking his leave, heading inside the large mansion. Kohta looked back at Hinata and Saya, the black haired teen had turned on his heel, facing the front gates as the rain slowly started falling harder. He wanted to talk to him, but didn't really know how to approach the topic he wanted to talk about. Saya however had noticed the firm look on his face, and had nodded to herself.

"It seems Kohta has something to say to you Hinata. I gotta report back to my father, let him know how everything turned out. I'll be back soon." she said, and just like that she was gone. Hinata looked back, locking eyes with the speckled gunman, who had grown a bit pale.  
"Something wrong Kohta? You look a little pale man." he said.

"No...nothing is wrong it's just...Takagi...I mean Saya she...about what she did back at the tent...do you mind if we talk about it?" he asked.

"What, you mean how she tried to make them see reason? What's there to talk about?" Hinata asked. The man shook his head, his grip on his AR-10 loosening a bit.

"I meant when she took your hand. Ever since you two came back from the hospital, she's been acting a little different...well to you at least. She doesn't yell at you, or snap at you...hell she talks to you normally. It's like you understand each other on a mutual level." he said.

"Heh, after everything we went through, if we didn't start to understand each other, I would be afraid of interacting with her. Saya is a loud mouth, a smart ass, calculating, but I'll tell you what she's not..a pussy. She takes everything head on, and even that little display has be changing my views on her. Perhaps the Saya of the past would have been someone I would have grown to hate, but the Saya that I've gotten to know these past few days, she's different, more understanding and most of all, cunning. I on the other hand am calm, collected, a good listener, and a bit reckless. I hate to admit it, but I love blowing shit up, shooting the hell out of these undead fucks, I get a rush whenever I'm surrounded by them, because I don't have to keep my anger pent up, I can kill each and everyone without remorse, without a single care in the world, and I'd gladly do it if it meant keeping those close to me safe. I suppose I complement her a bit." he said with a shrug.

"And that's the thing...listen man...I've had a crush on her for awhile. Before everything went down, I didn't have a ghost of a chance with a girl like her, but now that all of this shit happened, I have a shot. I've been protecting her since day one, and I feel like you are worming your way between us." Kohta said, suddenly getting defensive. Hinata chuckled, looking at the front gates, a far of gaze in his eyes.

"I'll be honest with you, since you are my friend and I don't want this issue becoming a problem in the future. I have feelings for Saya too, I hate to admit it, but I've had feelings for her since that stupid locker room mix up in elementary school. After not seeing her for so long, and finally meeting up with her again, it just woke up a bit of my pent up attraction toward her. You and I are the same in many ways, and different in just as many. We feel helpless in school, were bullied every day of our lives. We also love our guns, blowing the Freaks apart with a hail of bullets, we love fighting them tooth and nail and taking out our aggression on them, after years of taking it, we both feel a rush from it and we're addicted to it, and don't stand there and tell me it's not true." he said, looking back at him. Kohta chuckled dryly, giving him a nod.

"You are right, I've grown so used to that rush that I can't live without it. I've been secretly hoping something happened, just so I would have an excuse to shoot the fucks. But this isn't about that, this is about our attraction toward the same girl." he said firmly.

"Yes, but let's agree to one thing, instead of fighting each other, let's let her decide on her own. When she picks on of us, the other will have to deal with her decision and will not be able to complain about it. We'll wholeheartedly agree to let them be happy, savvy?" he asked, holding his hand out. Kohta looked at it for a few seconds, before nodding firmly, grasping the other teen's hand with his own, giving a firm but friendly shake. The portly boy's eyes lit up under his glasses.

"May the best man win." he said.

Neither of them had noticed the pink haired girl in question had listened to their entire conversation, already having made her choice. She frowned, tugging a strand of hair.

" _I'm so sorry Kohta, I did have some feelings for you but you wouldn't understand me, not like Hinata does. We've been through so much in such a short period of time, and I can honestly say I've grown close to him. I can't deny these feelings anymore...so I'll get this over with fast, so you don't have to suffer any longer."_

She walked off, slowly heading up the stairs toward her father's office. She still had to tell him the results of her talk with the people. She know that he wouldn't be too happy with the results, but she couldn't focus on that. She had to focus on preparations, after all she wasn't going to let Hinata and Nozomi go find their parents on their own.


	10. House of the Dead

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 10

House of the Dead

Saeko Busujima had heard many things about Soichiro Takagi, through her father, the master of swordplay and her instructor. But what she didn't know was that the man would be so firm with his ways that he would make the very people around him tremble in fear. She of course had no reason to fear him, as she knew he was being stern with the people to make them see reason, and she felt bad for Saya as she was the one being put at the forefront of his request. Knowing her, she would be able to handle it with dignity, if not throwing a few choice words at all of the people she was about to talk too. Hinata being by her would be another thing entirely. He hid it well, but the young man had serious mental issues, brought upon him by his past experience. Being a victim of the same thing, Saeko found herself empathizing quite a bit with the young man, if not having shown it. They hadn't met before the world ended, but if they had, she was sure that they would have become great friends.

She sat in the center of the Takagi Estate's dojo. The floors had been made with traditional tatami mats, which felt soft to the touch. All around her, were various trophies from many competitions that the head of the Takagi family had won through his craft. There were also various sets of armor, and practice swords, neatly placed on the wall behind her, a set of colored belts being underneath it. There was even a small shrine in the very back of the dojo, several incense sticks were lit up, most likely to mourn all of the lives that had been lost over the last six and a half days, as well as the Don's more personal friends.

Kneeling in front of her, still in his military garb, was the main man himself, Soichiro Takagi. He had been kneeling in front of her for awhile now, silently watching her, judging her with his eyes. She wouldn't admit it to the others, but she felt greatly unnerved by him, but she knew he was just wondering if she truly was the daughter of his Sensei. In front of him was a sword, which was several centimeters longer than her bokken was. It was held in a maroon colored scabbard, which was free of any designs or furnishings. As far as she could tell, it was just a plain scabbard. The tsuba of the sword was intricately designed, crafted out of a sturdy metal, at least from her point of view. It was also lined with gold, giving it a bit of brightness, where the scabbard served to darken the blade a bit. The handle of it was wrapped in a matching red leather thread, crossing each other to form a diamond pattern. The pommel of it was rounded off, and was polished to a shine. Two rings had been attached to the sword, one at the pommel, and a second one on the scabbard, this would serve as the strap holder, for when the user wanted to attach the scabbard to their clothing.

She had been staring at it for awhile, since the man had placed it on the floor between them in fact. She didn't know why, but she knew she recognized that sword from somewhere, as if she had seen it before at some point in her life.

"I had heard a great many things about the daughter of Master Busujima, so I made sure that if we ever crossed paths, I would formally meet you." Soichiro said, startling her out of her thoughts, though she didn't show it. She gave a small bow, her emotionless look changing slightly.

"It is an honor to meet you as well, Master Takagi. You have a beautiful home, and it is an honor to be allowed to stay here." she replied. The man chuckled, shaking it off.

"Worry not, I wouldn't turn down someone in need, especially the daughter of the man who taught me everything I know about the sword. I can see you've been staring at this sword intently for awhile now. Go ahead, I assure you, you will not stain it's power." he said firmly, gesturing to the sword between them. She reached for it, taking a firm hold of the scabbard. Carefully, she took a firm hold of the hilt, drawing the blade inside.

Her eyes widened as she saw the blade for the first time. It was a beautifully crafted sword, and she could tell the material that has gone into making it was the finest quality. She drew the entirety of the blade out of the scabbard, looking at it closely. It weighed a little more than her bokken did, and slightly less than a traditional Japanese Katana, but it was perfectly balanced. The further she looked at it, the more things she noticed, but the biggest shocker to her was the fact that it had two sharpened edges, it was a double edged sword.

"This is...a doubled edged sword, crafted during the Meiji Era of Japan, a beautiful military sword. If I am correct, this is the Murata-tou, crafted by General Murata in the Tokyo Armory." she said breathlessly, glancing at her surprised reflection on the blade she was holding.

"Very good. This was a sword indeed crafted by General Murata, who also created the Murata Rifle. I have had it for a great many years, truly a marvelous creation." the man said firmly, admiring the blade in the young woman's hand.

"It barely has a curve to it. To see something like this withstand the test of time, you have cared for it very well Master." Saeko said, placing the sword back in it's scabbard, laying back on the floor before her.

"Indeed, and now I pass this sword onto you...consider it a gift, not only for keeping my daughter safe, but also as a trade for the years of training I spent under Master Busujima." he said.

"What? Surely you jest...a sword of this caliber...it would be better suited for a man of my father's abilities. I still have much to learn." she said.

"Then perhaps you can take it to him. I hear he is in a dojo over seas, the old man wouldn't bow down to this crisis. He'll make it back here eventually." Soichiro said. Saeko swallowed the lump in her throat, reaching for the sword again, her hand trembling. It wasn't often she showed emotion, but when she did, she had a hard time hiding it.

Hinata was standing in front of the bed he had been using since he had come to the Takagi Estate. He had to admit, it had been the best bed he had ever slept in. Savannah surely thought so, since the girl had refused to sleep without either him or Saya, since she had already grown used to them. He had been looking his supplies over, having emptied his backpack just to do a dry count of everything.

Upon arrival, Shizuka had given Hinata the biggest hug he had ever received in his life, so much so that his face was half buried in her buxom chest. Apparently, the surplus of medical equipment he had brought them had been something she wanted to take advantage of. She was planning on asking him to resupply some stuff anyway, but when he showed up in an ambulance of all things, she had been absolutely ecstatic. She had quickly taken all of the necessities she had been looking for, as long as the stuff that they had salvaged from the hospital under her ownership, leaving the rest to Don Takagi for his personal use, the man having thanked him for his service.

Along with all of his medical supplies, he had three days worth of food, an entire week if he rationed them correctly, and several bottles of fresh water, the biggest ones he could find. He also had a surplus of ammunition, thanks to all of the SDF checkpoints he had raided on the way to the hospital. He hated to admit it, but he felt like someone that had been dumped in the middle of America with a box of bullets and spare rifle. He was glad that the US Military had sent help when they did, even though they had fallen to the Freaks, their sacrifice wasn't in vain, since their supplies would be helping a lot of people out, though the range of people varied, as he was sure some bad ones were out there, already abusing those spare weapons left behind in all the turmoil.

The thought of running into a hostile group of survivors scared him, and he honestly hoped he never ran into anyone like that, but he knew eventually they would. He started placing everything back in his backpack, making sure to keep it as orderly as possible. He did a mental check of everything, before zipping his backpack up. It wasn't that heavy anymore, considering most of the supplies inside had been taken by Shizuka. He did a final check of his weapons, making sure everything was working normally. He placed his handgun in his holster, and turned to his rifle. He had taken the suppressor off of it, as much as he loved using it, it made the gun extremely dirty, and he didn't know how to clean the rifle yet, so he would only use it at night, since it had the flashlight attached to it. He looked at the gun in his hands, a frown on his face.

"Well girl, looks like you and I are going out there again. You are one reliable piece of tech, hmm...maybe I should name you...how about Charlotte? That sounds like a good name." he said, drawing the knife he had gotten from Kohta earlier from it's holster. He sat down on the edge of the bed, flicking the safety switch on the trigger. He looked for a good spot, finding one next to the scope, he started etching out the name Charlotte, in the most intricately carved out calligraphy he could muster. Once done, he wiped the metal shavings away, leaving the bright platinum colored name.

"Well, I can see you're entertained."

He looked up, dropping his knife at the sudden voice that just happened to be right next to him. Almost dropping his rifle as he rapidly stood up, he turned to face Saya Takagi, who was looking at him with mild amusement on her face.

"Jesus Christ, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that Saya, shit like that will get you shot." he said firmly. He held his chest a bit, setting Charlotte down next to his pack. He was considering naming his pistol as well, but wasn't sure if Savannah would like that.

"I heard you flick the safety on, besides I know you wouldn't shoot me of all people. What drove you to pick the name Charlotte of all names?" she asked curiously. He chuckled, looking out the window, at the clearing clouds. The rain had let up for the time being, giving them a bit of sunshine, though he knew the storm would pick up for the next few days. It rained a lot in the Spring time, especially in Southern Japan, where Tokunosu was located.

"Charlotte was the name my parents had chosen for their second child, a little girl that had been growing inside my mother when my father passed away. The shock of the whole thing made my mom really sick...for weeks I thought she would leave me too, to suffer in this cruel world alone. Charlotte was stillborn, she didn't survive the shock...it wasn't just my father who we lost...it was my little sister too." he said, holding back the tears.

"I'm so sorry...I shouldn't have asked you about something like that." She said, taking a seat next to him. He shook his head, giving her a smile.

"It's alright...I fell into depression a couple years back, and my therapist said I should talk to people about it. I trust you with my life, so if I want to make that trust even stronger, I have to share everything I possibly can with you, so that there aren't any secrets between us. It's the same for the others, I'll eventually tell them about this stuff too." he said with a shrug.

"Let's not talk about this sort of stuff...it's already bad enough, I don't need you getting depressed on me. I don't know what I would do if you were to snap." she said firmly. He nodded, glancing at his rifle.

"I take it you came here to let me know when we leave? Does your father even think it's good for you to leave?" he asked curiously. She pouted, crossing her arms under her chest.

"Even if he didn't agree with it, I would still go with you and the others. I made my decision remember? And right now I'm making another one."

"Another one? Pardon me, but what are you even talking about?" he asked, his head tilted in curiosity. Saya's body language changed a bit, he was used to seeing a rather annoyed body language, or a haughty one. The past few days though, her attitude toward him had changed, quite drastically, though he knew it was due to the given situation at the time. They had developed a close bond with each other, whom they also shared with Nick and Savannah. They had gone through a lot during that night away from the others. Hinata wouldn't say it was a necessary change, but it was a welcome one. He knew that eventually Saya would have to buck up and take charge to defend herself and the others in the group, and even though he hated to admit it, that trip to Mercy Hospital had been good for her, and for Nick as well, who had been taking things way more serious than he had been before. It was impressive how much the human mind can change in such a short period of time. It hadn't technically been a week yet, since the world ended, and yet all of them had changed, whether for the better or for the worse, he had yet to decide.

Saya remained silent, possibly thinking of a good response to his question. She honestly didn't know how to answer him. She was so used to avoiding this kind of stuff at school that she had grown used to straying away from emotions like love and affection. She didn't even know how many times Kohta had asked her out back in school, or how many times others had invited her out, only for them to flat out refuse them. This time though, she couldn't deny her feelings, not in this new world. They were confusing, and she needed to figure them out, before something ended up happening to all of them.

"I heard what you and Kohta were saying, that entire conversation. I wasn't intending to listen in, but I couldn't help myself. It did involve me after all." she said firmly. His eyes widened a bit, a chuckle escaping his lips, it was a dry one, holding little emotion, other than annoyance and slight anger.

"I get it, you came to tell me that you picked the other guy. I understand, we haven't spoken in years so it makes sense if you went with him. He knows more about guns than I do at least, so he'd keep you safe. So long as he makes you happy, then I'm happy." he said.

"Shut up you dumb ass, you need to let me talk! Jeez, I came here to tell you that I like you, not Kohta. I'll admit, the gun otaku has grown on me, due to all of his knowledge with firearms and his ability to stay calm in the toughest of situations, but I didn't connect with him like I did with you. We've been through so much already, I just can't deny these feelings. So you best help me settle my confusion dipshit, or I'll shoot you with my 12 gauge!" she snapped.

He honestly didn't know how to respond to that. He had turned her out when she said she liked him. His scowl had turned into a bright grin, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. He hadn't really been looking forward to starting a new relationship, especially in the mess they were currently in, but he was looking forward to it. He took her hand firmly in his own, giving her a warm smile.

"I'm glad you told me this Saya...I hate to admit it, but as soon as I saw you in that bus on the bridge, I sort of started falling for you. I've had a crush on you since fourth grade, I just didn't act on them back then, and then we ended up going to separate middle schools, I just forgot. I promise to keep you safe, I won't let anyone, anything happen to you." he said, giving her hand a firm squeeze.

"Good, I know you'll be able to hold that promise. Now...um...don't make fun of me but...I've never...you know." she said, blushing a bit, looking away from him, her light pink hair shielding her face. He looked at her for a few seconds, only to realize what she was getting at. He started chuckling a bit, causing her to look back at him.

"Don't laugh asshole! It's not funny." she snapped, almost wanting to slap the teen. He reached up, cupping her cheek with his hand, the sudden action made the girl stiffen a bit, as she hadn't been expecting him to do that. He brushed aside some of her hair, and looked right into her eyes.

"Smile beautiful, you look better when you do." he said.

"Such a way with words." she said, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. He started leaning forward, making her breath hitch a bit. She closed her eyes, leaning in, pressing her lips onto his own. It was a soft kiss, filled with a lot of emotion. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself a little harder into him, and he replied in kind, wrapping his arms around her waist. Their soft kiss evolved, into a more fierce and passionate one, filled with the love that had blossomed between the two, like a Sakura tree in the Spring. They pulled away for air, only to kiss again, much rougher than the last time. They just continued on, until she was literally straddling him, her small hands having taken a hold of his face.

It was then that someone cleared their throat, rather loudly. Both teens pulled away, a look of shock written on both their faces. Takashi had been standing there, all geared up, his Colt Detective Special tucked into his belt. He rubbed his neck awkwardly, brushing some hair out of his eyes.

"Um...we're all set to leave." he said.

"Alright, you could have knocked ass hat, jeez! Don't go running your mouth either or I'll shoot you!" Saya snapped. The teen held his hands up in self defense, shaking his head to and fro.

"I'm not...I'm happy the two of you got together. Hearing Hinata mutter your name in his sleep was really starting to annoy the rest of us." He said. Hinata stood up, drawing his 1911 from his holster, pulling the slide back. The teen turned around, running off as his laughter filled their ears.

"Jesus Christ, he's gonna tell someone. Anyway, are you ready to go?" he asked, earning a nod from her.

"I am, sadly I don't have anything else to wear, just fancy dresses, all of my school uniforms are back at the academy. We'll need to stop by a store at some point to grab some changes of clothes. Running around in blood soaked garments really isn't ideal." she said.

"What happened to all of the clothes we got from Rika's place?"

"Shizuka handed it all to the people standing here, all of the women that needed it at least, a real shame. Some of that was really expensive stuff. Let me go grab my pack, I'll meet you down stairs." she said, giving him a peck on the cheek, causing him to blush a bit. He flicked the safety back onto his pistol, grabbing Charlotte off the ground.

"Lock and load mother fuckers." he said, a grin on his face.

Tokunosu International Airport was one of the biggest in Japan, and the only public airport that was in the ocean on a large artificial island. The only way to reach it was by boat, so many thought it would be a secure place, at least until _they_ showed up. It had all been fun and games, shooting a few of them, cracking jokes while they kept everyone safe, but now most of the surviving staff and operators had been killed, leaving everyone left in the terminal stranded.

Even through these circumstances, Rika Minami didn't worry. She was a trained S.A.T. having once been in the military herself, she knew her way around a gun, and she wouldn't give up so easily.

She was a woman of twenty seven, with long fuchsia colored hair that she had put up in a high ponytail. She was wearing the best in tactical gear, provided to her by the Self Defense Forces. She was currently wearing a long sleeved leather jacket, which was zipped up half way, leaving parts of her upper chest exposed. She was also wearing matching black pants, stuffed into thick black leather boots. The pants were durable, made of a material that was similar to denim, and wouldn't tear so easily. Over it she was wearing a black armored vest, which she absolutely detested, but figured it would be good to have anyway. She wore thick black pads on her knees and elbows, which were made from a tough alloy that would make them less likely to break, and would keep her joints safe from harm. She was wearing a white belt like collar around her neck, a dog tag was attached to it, her name written on it in bold black letters. Attached to her leg was a holster, which carried her now empty Sig Sauer P226, and some spare magazines which had been deployed from her sprint back to the terminal. She had an M-16 carbine, standard issue with an EoTech scope attachment and an extended magazine, the gun belonging to her now deceased partner. Around her shoulder was her favorite gun, a type 89 rile, with a folding stock and a high powered scope for long distance shooting. She had just come back from a mission to destroy the remains of _them_ that had been wondering out on the runway.

She sat down on a bench next to the windows, the sun was setting, so the light orange glow was coming into the terminal. She set her weapons down beside her, and quickly went to work on taking off her vest. Once she had, she set it aside, opening her jacket and letting it fall off her shoulders, revealing her white crop top. She groaned a bit as she massaged her breasts, the vest had been killer on them and she had been dying to take it off. She sighed, popping a cigarette from her dwindling pack. She placed it in her mouth and lit the end of it, taking a long drag.

"I'm gonna miss ya man, you were the best partner I ever had." she said softly, looking up at the ceiling. She drew her cellphone from her pocket and flicked it open, looking through her contacts, selecting the one belonging to her girlfriend, Shizuka Marikawa. She knew the woman wouldn't easily be turned into one of _them_ but she also knew how ditzy the woman can be, even when trying to act her age. It was one of the things that made them the best of friends.

She knew that eventually she would end up at her apartment, and would figure out how to open her locker, and she knew that whoever was with her would be able to use the guns she had to keep them safe, though she had been missing her AR-15 as of late. She pressed the call button, holding it up to her waiting for the dial tone to dissipate so that she could hear her friends voice.

Alas, that wasn't the case, for the fifteenth time, she hadn't replied, and that was something that was worrying her.

"She must have forgotten her phone in her car, or left the school without it. Even though I told her to have it on her at all times, you dummy." she said silently, closing her phone, setting it beside her. She took another drag of her cigarette, blowing the smoke slowly out of her system.

It hadn't been that long since she had talked to her commanding officer, and had told him that she would be going back to the city to find her friend. The man had agreed to let her go, supplies and munitions were dwindling at a rapid pace, and at the rate things were going, they would have to pull out eventually, taking the remaining survivors with them. If things were as hectic as they had gotten in the airport, then the city would be twice as bad, if not worse. She would have to stock up on ammunition and hope to hell that her friend was still alive. Once they were together, they could find themselves a place to stay until help could arrive, if it ever did.

Her phone started vibrating, making her quickly grab it, flicking it open to see the incoming caller. It was an unknown number of course, but she didn't care at the moment. She pressed the green button holding the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

" _Rika, is that you? I'm so glad to hear your voice. I never thought I would hear you again! I've been through so much hell."_

"Shizuka, thank Christ your alive. Where are you, my apartment?" She asked, leaning back against the glass window.

" _That place is no good. We were there for a single night, and it got overrun, we did borrow your guns though."_ she said.

"That's fine...where are you? Are you safe?" she asked firmly.

" _Oh, we're at..."_

Rika cringed as her phone fizzled out, steam coming from it. She looked up, seeing the start of a bright flash. She saw another thick trail of smoke heading toward whatever the flash was, colliding with it mid air, taking it out completely in a large explosion, the mushroom cloud towering thousands of meters in the air, taking out the flash entirely. She looked around the airport, seeing a few of the electronics had been taken out, though most of the monitors were still displaying the canceled flights and some nature show, most of them had gone dark. The emergency lights kicked in after a few seconds, though it was dimmer than the airport had been previously.

"Hey, you're S.A.T. right? What the hell was that flash just now?" one man asked. He looked horrible, covered in sweat, his hair unkempt, his face covered in thick stubble. She tossed her phone aside, taking a long drag of her cigarettes.

"Nothing much, our nights just dimmed a bit. It's gonna make this so much harder on all of us." she said simply, not answering the question directly. Hell, if she told him that what he had witnessed was an EMP, she doubted he would have even known what it was. She could only pray the city wasn't badly affected by the partial detonation of that warhead.

 _Xxx(Ten Minutes Earlier...USS George Washington)_

It had been a terrible six days for the United States of America. Not only had they witnessed all of their citizens turn into ravenous freaks, but they had also witnessed the loss of almost every chief of staff and cabinet member that once worked within the White House. It hadn't been that long since Air Force One had been confirmed as having fallen, killing the President of the United States. After that, the remaining three days were nothing short of turmoil, as the shift in power had transferred to literally anyone who was still able to lead.

That's why, for now President Pierce Washington, he had to do something to protect his nation. Thanks to the news outlets, everyone knew that Air Force One had fallen, and it wouldn't be long until people started resorting to nuclear weapons.

He was a man in his early forties, the second youngest president to ever be inaugurated into service, though that was an understatement, considering everyone he knew was already dead. He was a tall man, standing at an even six feet, with dirty blond hair that was slicked back with gel, normally at least, now it had been a bit unkempt, especially from the strong winds that whipped up on the ocean. He was wearing a pressed blue suit, with thick black buttons on the cuffs, and a clean white shirt, with a bright red tie, on the lapel was a pin in the shape of the American flag. He was wearing matching blue slacks, which reached down to his black leather oxford shoes, which were firmly tied onto him. He also had a holster attached to his leg, a Colt 1911 secure inside. Thanks to the crisis, it was imperative that everyone still alive on the ship was well armed, in case one of _them_ attacked, though he doubted that was possible, considering none of them had gotten aboard the ship.

"Sir, we have a call from Washington, it's urgent." one man said, appearing next to him. The man nodded, and was quickly whisked away toward a conference room. When the initial attack started, the previous president had agreed to split up the cabinet, so that in case they were killed, everyone would die at once. It had worked, to some extent at least. One of the remaining secretaries, the Secretary of the Department of Education, had decided to remain in the White House, as he didn't want to leave the capital city. Once inside the room, he looked around, seeing the remaining chiefs of staff, along with the only General still alive. He nodded to them and walked over to his seat, picking up the phone.

"Washington speaking." the man said firmly, there was shuffling on the other line, before hearing the man's voice.

" _Washington, it's good to hear you. I have some very bad news."_

"Tell me Smith, what's going on in the capital?" he asked curiously. The man sighed, remaining silent for a few seconds, before finally steeling his nerves.

" _It seems you are now the last President of the United States of America. We had a breach, the remaining Secret Service members and staff all turned into them. I was bitten not to long ago, and ended up cutting my own hand off to stop the flow of the infection, but I won't last much longer, I'm bleeding out as it is. Before everything went to shit, we got word that Russia is preparing for an assault. North Korea and China are preparing as well."_ he said.

"My god...they can't...they just can't do that."

" _Sir, I am calling you because we need to launch our own attack, before they are able to launch their own. Beijing is in shambles, and there's a riot in North Korea leaving all of the military scrambled, and Russia is still off the grid. We need to protect this nation, it is your constitutional right."_

"I can't do that and you know it Smith. I wasn't even properly briefed, I don't have the codes and even if I did, I wouldn't issue that order." the man said.

" _Well I do, and you have to launch this attack, or else everyone here in America will suffer greatly due to the nuclear arsenal in their possession. It's bad enough having to deal with them, but do you want to deal with a nuclear fall out as well? Heed my words Washington, we have to take this preemptive strike while we have the chance."_ the man said. Loud coughing filled the other line, along with the sounds of dry heaving.

" _Washington...you have to do this...I'll give you the codes right now...it's your right."_ the man said weakly. Gritting his teeth, Washington looked around the room, earning nods from everyone present. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

"Go ahead." he said, grabbing a nearby pen.

It only took a few seconds, but Washington was able to jot down the numbers. It wasn't long after that the line was silenced, a loud gunshot echoing through the room as it finally went dead. Washington hung the phone up, looking at the paper in his hands. He passed it to the general, giving him a nod.

"Proceed without me, I'll be on deck." he said. The man nodded, standing up from his seat. President Washington, walked down the long winding halls he had grown used to in the last few days, and headed up to the top deck. He slowly made his way toward the edge of the Airship carrier, looking down at the waters below. He didn't even know where he was, or what ocean he was in...but it didn't matter. Not anymore at least. He pulled his gun from his holster, along with a picture of his family, staring at it longingly.

"May god have mercy on us all." he whispered, bringing the gun to his head.

"Mr. President!" one of the Secret Service men shouted, racing toward the man's side. A loud gunshot resounded through the deck, the last President of the United States had taken his own life, his body plunging to the icy depths below.

 _Xxx(Maritime Self Defense Aegis Convoy, Kongo, Sea of Japan)_

"Before taking a direct hit from a trident warhead, we confirmed the launch of four DF-21 medium range ballistic missiles from Tonghua, Jilin Base! Even with the world overrun with those monsters...switch to fully automatic! Commence long distance ballistic missile interception combat!" the commanding officer cried out, looking at all of the soldiers. They were scrambling around, inputting commands into their systems, hoping to get everything ready in time.

"All systems set to go, on your command captain!" a young navy officer cried, looking at his captain. The man lowered his binoculars giving him a nod.

"Fire, fire all!" the cried. The young man turned the key attached to the console and pressed the red flashing button. Alarms started blaring through the shift, the sound of jettisoning missiles filling the entire ship.

"Standard SM-3 missile destroyed target. JDS Kirishima DDG-174 and USS Shiloh CG-67 also confirmed hit." the young navy officer cried out, everyone begun cheering loudly.

"What about the last one? Is it still inbound?" the captain asked.

"Uh...holy shit, yes it is. That target was assigned to Curtis Wilbur!" he said. The captain grabbed a hold of the radio, pressing the button on the side, a sense of dread filling his system.

"Curtis Wilbur, come in. Curtis Wilbur come in! What the fuck happened?" the man shouted angrily.

"May god have mercy on us all." one man said, watching the radar intently as the incoming missile was fast approaching their home.

 _Xxx(American Aegis Destroyer Curtis Wilbur)_

A single navy officer made his way through he halls of the ship, he was the last one alive. In his hand he held the key that would active the launch sequence. He stumbled into the bridge, seeing all of _them_ in there. His fellow officers and captain. He let out a predatory wail, pushing through the horde, heading toward the panel.

" _Curtis Wilbur, come in. Curtis Wilbur come in!"_

He ignored the radio, inserting the key into the slot. He quickly typed several things into the panel, all the while, they were getting closer. Finally he typed the last sequence in, turning the key so hard it almost snapped. He pressed the flashing red button, starting the launch sequence.

"Ha, take that you motherfuckers!" he shouted, just as he was taken down by his dead friends. He may have been late to the party, but at least he got the job done. It would be up to the missile now, and hopefully it would intercept it before the warhead detonated. The last thing the young navy officer saw, was the jaws of one of _them_ as it took a large chunk out of his throat, ending his short life.

 _xxx(Takagi Estate- Ten minutes before EMP.)_

The rain had picked up again by the time Hinata had grabbed his stuff. Saya had run off, going back to her bedroom to grab her extra ammunition and her pack, as she wouldn't be letting him leave without her. She had already gathered a few extra knives from her father's stash, so they at least could rely on that. He had been waiting in the foyer, with Takashi and Rei, who had been talking quietly to themselves. Thunder rumbled above them, making the rain pick up a bit more.

"Man, this is gonna be fun! Maybe we should lip sync in the rain!" Hinata said.

"Ha ha, very funny cousin! This isn't the time to be singing a Broadway song anyway." Rei said.

"Jeez girl, take a joke, no need to get your panties in a twist." he exclaimed. She huffed, looking away from him. She had gotten her Springfield M1A1 back from Kohta, and had quickly put the harness back on, having reattached the bayonet Hinata had borrowed not that long ago, the sharpened blade stuck out from the bottom of the gun. In many ways, it was like the girl had found herself a better spear. He knew just how trained she was, after all they had the same master.

"I'm not, I just don't want to sing anything in the rain. So, I heard about your little make out session with Saya, any details you wanna share?" she asked, a smirk on her lips. He glared at Takashi, who only chuckled in response. His scowl turned into a smile as he looked directly at his cousin.

"Yeah, I have some details...detail number one...Fuck...and detail number two, You...hope that was satisfactory!" he said. Rei giggled lightly.

"Say that all you want, I can see the blush on your cheeks. She was totally eating you wasn't she? Poor thing, I heard it was her first kiss!"

"Takashi, you do know Saya wasn't kidding about shooting you right?" Hinata asked, glaring at his friend.

"Don't give me shit, she was peeking through the keyhole way before I came into the room." he said.

"You both suck! Anyway, what's the plan?" he asked firmly, trying to get back on topic.

"Well, I talked to Don Takagi and set the ground rules for this trip. Essentially, we have to get our parents together before they leave on the buses tomorrow morning. If we don't make it on time, they leave without us. I neglected to tell them Saya was coming with us though." he replied.

"Doesn't matter, Saya is coming with us whether he agrees to or not." Hinata said. He didn't say it because he himself wouldn't take no for an answer, it was because Saya would go regardless of what he said.

"Wow, big sis Saeko you look great!" Alice cried out suddenly. She and Savannah had been playing with Zero in the foyer not that far from where they all stood. Nozomi and Melanie had been patiently waiting for the time where they were set to leave, with Shizuka standing close to keep an eye on everyone. They all gazed up at Saeko, who had stepped into the foyer.

Not much had changed with her outfit, other than her wearing her school shirt and green ascot. She had changed the skirt entirely, replacing it with a dark violet on that was open on the sides, and served only to cover the front and back, her long violet stockings reached all the way to her mid thighs, and her attached to violet garters with thick black belts. She was still wearing the boots she had salvaged from Rika's house, the violet laces tied firmly. She left her long hair down, which trailed down her back. The thing that was different about her was the katana now strapped to her waist.

"So, are we ready to go?" Saeko asked firmly, looking at everyone.

"Not yet, we need to wait for Saya." Hinata said.

"Well, Don Takagi said he had something for us to take instead of the Humvee, apparently it's too damaged for us to take now, and has to get more repairs before it can be driven normally." Takashi said.

"You guys can check it out if you want, I'll just wait for you on the front steps." Hinata said. The rain had let up quite a bit, though it was still drizzling a little. Everyone decided to go outside to enjoy the last rays of the sun before it fully set. Hinata leaned against one of the support columns, watching Takashi and the others walk toward the garage, where the mechanic Matsudo was waiting with their new ride. From what Hinata could tell it was an Amphibious vehicle, with six thick wheels, that would make it harder than hell to flip. The only disadvantage it had, was the fact that it had no roof.

"Hi Hinata, how've you been?" Nozomi asked, gaining his attention. He shrugged, looking back at the others.

"I've been fine...just trying to get through the day. How are you holding up sweetheart?" he asked, a small smile on his face.

"I'm doing great! Saya's family has been so kind to us, and I honestly can't thank them enough. Mrs. Takagi even gave me this necklace, she said she wouldn't be needing it, and that it looked great with my eyes." she said, digging her hand inside her shirt, pulling out a necklace with a bright blue gemstone. It was a Sapphire, cut into the shape of a heart, the mount being encrusted with tiny little diamonds. The chain itself was made of sterling silver, with little diamonds on the sides of it. It was the most beautiful gem he had ever seen.

" _Le coeur de la mere_." he said softly, looking at the blue stone.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Nothing...I gotta say, that is one hefty rock. Betcha it's worth thousands." he said.

"Millions actually." the soft but firm voice of Yuriko Takagi said, as she stepped out into the front steps with them. Melanie, who was leaning against the other support column perked up a bit. In many ways, she looked up to the woman. She was rich, had tons of awesome clothes and an eye for jewelry. Maybe she would get lucky too.

"That thing is worth millions? Jeez, why would you waste so much money on a hunk of rock?" Hinata asked, unable to believe what he was hearing. Yuriko huffed, shaking her head.

"What a man...that is just what my husband say when I first showed it to him. Men just don't care for fine jewelry...talk to them about cars and they'll drool like a hound dog in the summer." she said, making the two girls laugh.

"Hey...that is _absolutely_ right...that and cute girls in swimsuits." he said, a blush on his face.

"You better not be thinking about other girls while I'm around dip shit, or I'll shoot you!" Saya suddenly said, making the teen jump a bit in surprise. She had walked out of the house, her black backpack slung around her shoulders, her shotgun in her hands. Yuriko looked at her, a questioning look on her face.

"What is all that stuff for honey?" she asked.

"I'm going with them mom, don't try to stop me because I've already made my decision." she said firmly. She stood next to Hinata, hooking her arm around his own.

"I'm going to marry this dolt, so be a good mommy and fetch me a wedding ring, one from the safe will do." she said.

"Saya! Christ what the fuck are you saying? At least let me think about this stuff first, we just became a couple. I can't just marry you off the bat." He exclaimed. Yuriko on the other hand, could only smile at her daughter's antics. She looked right at Hinata, a smile on her face.

"Take care of my daughter Hinata-kun, you have my blessing to get married! I expect grandkids soon!" she said.

"Yuriko-san please...this is embarrassing." he said, a blush on his cheeks.

"Uh-uh, from now on you call me mom!" she said firm yet motherly tone. He was about to say something when the sound of the gates opening caught his attention. All of them turned to the gates, seeing a small passenger bus making it's way into the courtyard. To Hinata, it didn't seem out of the ordinary, but Saya stiffened up quite a bit when she saw the bus. She tightened her grip on his arm.

"Son of a bitch! That bastard is still alive!" she hissed angrily.

"Who?" he asked curiously, also getting Nozomi and Malanie's attention. Saya spat at the ground, glaring at the bus right after.

"Koichi Shido...he's a douche bag teacher from Fujimi Academy. He has a sick twisted personality, capable of turning even the most docile of people into his puppets. We all saw it happening in front of our eyes, all it took was a couple of hours, but he had those kids eating from the palm of his hand." She replied, anger coursing through her.

Hinata watched the bus intently, as a young man in his late twenties stepped out of the bus. He was wearing a black pinstripe suit, which was a bit worn out. He was wearing a white shirt underneath, with a loosened red tie around his neck. He also wore a matching pair of pinstripe slacks and formal shoes. He had short black hair in a bit of a bowl cut, and had a thin framed pair of glasses on his face. Even from where he stood, Hinata could tell he had an air of arrogance, he could see the controlling smirk on his face, though Don Takagi's guards weren't any wiser.

He also saw a few other students get out of the bus, all of them looking like drugged mind controlled mental patients. The two girls were practically eating each other, as they leaned against the bus, literally sucking their faces off. The only other male in the group was groping an orange haired girl, and apparently she was enjoying it quite a lot.

"You see that, those are the kids I was talking about...though a couple of them is missing, probably took off while they had the chance." Saya muttered softly. He was about to say something when another person got off the bus, an all too familiar looking person, who should have been dead by this point. Hinata pulled his arm free of Saya's grasp, and took his backpack off, handing it to her as he started walking toward the bus.

"Hinata, please don't do anything stupid!" Nozomi said, a worried look on her face. He smirked, drawing his 1911 from his holster.

"Trust me, I won't!" he said cheerfully as he flicked the safety off.

"Man, I gotta say Mr. Shido, I'm surprised you saved all of these high school kids." the guard said, glancing at the teenagers who were literally pinning each other to the wall. He was a bit unnerved by them, but decided to ignore them.

"Of course! I love my students dearly, so I couldn't just leave them behind. We also managed to pick up this young man, a drifter if you will, who was part of the Tokunosu West Academy alumni. He was abandoned by his fellow students, left to wonder the streets alone." Shido said, placing a hand on Bryce's shoulder, both of them smirking inwardly.

"I'll get the Don to come meet you. Surely he would like to meet the son of Ichirou Shido." he said.

"Man, this is a sweet place. I always wanted to see what this mansion looked like on the inside." Bryce said, looking around the area.

"Hey asshole!"

His ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice. He saw Hinata Miyamoto fast approaching him. He turned to face him a smirk on his face, but before he could say anything derogatory to him, he was met with the barrel of a gun, pressed right to his forehead.

"Yo man what the fuck! Get that gun off my face!" He snapped angrily.

"Why should I? Why are you here? How are you still alive?" He cried out, his grip tightening on his gun.

"Son, get that firearm away from this young man at once! Don't you have any decency? What if it were to accidentally discharge? How would you feel if you ended up killing him?" Shido asked, looking right at Hinata, who could only smirk in response.

"Actually, it would be a great weight off my shoulders. You see over the last few nights, I couldn't sleep right at all, knowing he was still alive somewhere. I just wanted to run into him at some point, so I can take care of him myself." He replied, making the man take a step back. He felt a prick at his back and quickly turned around, only to see the tip of a bayonet aimed right at him.

"Miss Miyamoto, what a coincidence running into you here?" the man said, chuckling dryly.

"Do you know why I'm so good with a sojutsu? It's because I was also trained with the bayonet. And the person who trained me was my father, a man who never knew failure, during his entire life, working at the precinct or anything. He has had some losses, but we pulled through them, at least until he started his investigation on your father. You see, he was going to lock him away for doing a lot of bad things, and when he was close to cracking the case, he backed away, the reason being my failure of the second year. The man that hadn't cried a single time in his life, had suddenly broken down in front of me, telling me that it was his fault that I had failed. I didn't know what he meant until I realized that it had been you who tampered with my grades, you held me back, just so that he could back away from your father." she said angrily.

"What are you talking about? I wouldn't do that to you Miss Miyamoto...I love all my students dearly!" the man exclaimed.

"Don't make me laugh! I know it was you, you were the only one who had access to the student records, the only one that ever could! You made my father cry, you held me back for no goddamn reason, and for that you should pay!" she said, pressing the tip of the bayonet into his cheek, causing a bit of blood to dribble from the cut.

"It that's how you feel, then kill them!" the firm voice of Soichiro Takagi said. He was walking toward them, a small group of armed men trailing behind him and his wife.

"Don Takagi." Hinata muttered, stiffening a bit.

"Me and that man's father used to have business together. He was a detestable person, and there's no doubt his son is the same way. If you feel the need to, then kill him...I would do it myself, if I had a reason. The same extends to you Hinata, if you feel like this young man has wronged you...then it's up to you to take back what you rightfully deserve!" he said firmly.

Hinata licked his lips, looking back at Bryce who was trembling in fear. He didn't know why, but he felt so empowered, the fact that he had a gun pointed at one of his worst enemies, and that his life was literally hanging by a thread due to him, it was a feeling that he couldn't get over. His blood was pumping, and adrenaline was filling his system. His pupils had dialated a bit, and a look of sheer enjoyment appeared on in his face.

"H-Hinata...hey man if it means anything, I'm sorry, about everything that I did to you, let's just have a clean slate alright?" Bryce said. He gave out a low chuckle, throwing his head back a bit.

"Clean slate? Do you think you and I can have a clean slate after all of the times you tormented me? After all of the times you verbally and physically abused my friend? It doesn't work that way asshole. You are the scum of the earth, you don't deserve to stay alive. You should be one of _them_ , shambling the streets, undead and unfeeling, for the rest of all eternity, suffering for your actions in the fiery pits of hell. That's the reason why I don't kill you right now, because I want you to suffer the same way our peers suffered in school the day the world went to shit, and to make things easier..." Hinata shifted his aim from the teen's head down to his thigh. He pulled the trigger, shooting the young man right in the thigh. Bryce dropped to the ground, howling in pain, as blood and bone started pouring from his new wound, staining his hands and pant leg. Bryce clutched his leg in pain, looking at him with burning eyes, tears of pain falling down the sides of his face.

"You shot me, you fucking shot me!" he cried out.

"If we ever run into each other on the streets again, I will shoot you, right between the eyes. Let's hope we don't meet again, because this isn't a threat...it's a promise." he said firmly, holstering his gun. He brushed past Don Takagi, who gave him a small smirk.

"Well done son, I know you'll take care of her." he said firmly, earning a nod in return from the young man. He wrapped his arm around Saya's waist, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He paused briefly to look at his other friends, who had looks of shock on their faces at his actions, though Kohta was more focused on the fact that Saya had picked Hinata over him. She had already talked to him about it, but that didn't mean he had gotten over it. Hinata didn't pay much attention after that incident, he was focusing on the rush that was going through him, the sheer enjoyment of having released so much pent up aggression on one of his tormentors, it felt absolutely fucking amazing. Shido helped Bryce back into the bus along with all of the other students, and they drove off into the sunset, hopefully never to be seen again.

"Man, that certainly was something." Takashi said, looking at the Miyamoto's unable to believe what he had seen. Rei giggled, looking at the sky.

"Don't worry about it, I dealt with my demons already...I can move on from this, and just start everything anew. I'm sure Hinata feels the same way!" she said.

"Definitely cousin...but that doesn't mean I'm not taking a crack at him, if we do run into each other." He said.

"If I was in Don Takagi's shoes, I don't know what I would have done. Sending them out there is suicide but...leaving them in here with us is just as worse." Takashi said.

"I commend that line of thought son, but I don't lean toward hesitation. As I stated before, if I had a reason I would have slain him where he stood. All of those kids, I feel ashamed to have even stood near them." he said. His wife hugged him tightly, bringing a smile to his face.

"Well, I suppose we should start leaving...we wanna make it to Rei and Takashi's houses before sundown, at least so we can head to Melanie's right after." Hinata said.

"Oh I did it! Yes I did it!" Shizuka suddenly said, jumping into the air, who voluptuous chest bouncing with each jump.

"Um...what did you do exactly?" Nick asked curiously, trying not to look at the woman.

"I remembered my friend's number. It was really hard since I didn't have my phone or my address book, but I finally remembered. Quick, someone hand me a phone." she said. Melanie sighed, shoving her hand in her blazer pocket.

"Here Doc, use mine." she said. Shizuka took the pink phone from her hand, quickly flipping it open.

"Ah yes, there's the one, and the two...all of the numbers are where they're supposed to be!"

"Do you want me to dial it for you?" Kohta asked.

"Oooh, you'll just mess me up..I'll do it." she said, slowly dialing the number in.

"Hey Takashi, you sure you can drive this thing? I know you were able to drive a motorcycle, but I just wanna make sure." Hinata said, looking at the Amphibious vehicle next to them.

"I can handle it man, don't even worry about it." He said, giving him a thumbs up.

"Rika, is that you? I'm so glad to hear your voice. I never thought I would hear you again! I've been through so much hell."

" _Shizuka, thank Christ your alive. Where are you, my apartment?"_

"That place is no good. We were there for a single night, and it got overrun, we did borrow your guns though." she said.

" _That's fine...where are you? Are you safe?"_ she asked firmly.

"Oh, we're at..."

The phone in Shizuka's hand suddenly fizzled out, a bit of steam coming from it. She looked at it oddly, noticing how hot it had gotten. She pressed a few buttons, but the phone didn't respond in any way. In that moment, a bright flash could be seen above all of them. Hinata's eyes widened a bit, seeing the bright flash high up in the atmosphere, only to see what looked like an explosion right afterwards. The area around them had cleared completely of clouds, and the rain had suddenly stopped as well. Everyone remained silent, not knowing exactly what had happened.

"Um...Melanie...I don't know how to say this but...your phone is busted." Shizuka said, holding the pink phone back to it's owner.

"What the fuck Doc? That phone was extremely expensive." Melanie snapped checking it over.

"My phone doesn't work either, and I was just looking at my clock to see what time it was." Takashi said. Hinata's breath hitched a bit, as the sudden realization hit him. He looked up to where the flash had happened, and noticed another trail, extended outward from where the explosion had taken place. He traced it with his finger, seeing that it was pointing straight to where the ocean was.

"That was...a counter strike ballistic warhead. That bright flash we just saw...it was a H.A.N.E." Hinata said.

"A what?" Melanie asked curiously.

"A High Altitude Nuclear Explosion. When a nuclear warhead detonates high in the atmosphere, the gamma rays make surrounding molecules get charged with electrons, causing a compton scattering, which in turn causes an electromagnetic pulse. That is detrimental to electronic devices." Saya explained, earning halfhazard nods from everyone. She sighed, turning to her boyfriend.

"Dumb it down for them."

"Rocket go boom, big flash cause phones to die. All electrical devices in city no longer work, we're screwed!" he said, making a fizzing sound with his tongue. Nick grit his teeth, socking the teen across the face, though that didn't really do much, other than knock him onto the ground.

"Okay, guess I deserved that one." Hinata said, wiping his mouth.

"So wait...are you telling me that everything electrical would stop working?" Rei asked, a look of disbelief on her face. Hinata rapidly stood up, deciding to continue the conversation.

"Not necessarily. Things like phones and computers, that were on at the time of the pulse would be dead, as long as they had a charge going through them. Power stations have all of the necessary equipment to replace the fried parts, so it wouldn't take that long to get power back in places where it's gone out. Though that particular warhead seemed to be taken out mid flight, so the pulse didn't fully go off, so there might be a chance that a lot of the electrical systems in the city still work, though most of them will be dead." He said.

"A ballistic counter strike warhead...and it's coming from the ocean...I know there are two Navy vessels out there, the Curtis Wilbur and the JSDF Kongo." Nick said matter of factly

"How do you even know that?" Saya asked curiously, looking at the brunette. He gave her a smirk, glancing at her and Hinata.

"Is this how you two feel when you know something others don't? It feels empowering...let me bask in this for a second."

"NICK!" Everyone snapped at him, making him chuckle. He shook his head, following the smoke trail back to the ocean.

"I know this because my father is stationed at Okinawa's Military Base. He isn't in the Navy or anything, but the Marines work closely with them, so he knows which ships are out there. When I went to visit with my sister Mindy last year, he took me to meet his friend who was the Captain of the Curtis Wilbur, so I know those two ships in particular are always doing rounds in the area. The scary thing is that everywhere around the world, all of the countries have decided to put nuclear warheads into use, who's to say that one wasn't the only one?" Nick said, a grim look on his face.

"We can't think of that now. Saya, do you think it could be possible to fix things?" Soichiro said, looking at this daughter. All of the guards had been placing lit torches all around the courtyards, to provide the area with sufficient light.

"Well, there is a chance we might be able to find cars that weren't that damaged by the pulse. Since it was destroyed before it took full effect, the scattering should have been less than normal, though even a fraction of it is strong enough to damage several important pieces of technology. We might be able to replace the fried parts in cars that don't use computers for their fuel injection system. Of course classic cars will be completely fine as well." She said. The man nodded, looking at one of his men.

"Start doing research on this right away, we can't leave unless we have vehicles." He said firmly.

"Sir!" he cried, taking off. Hinata dug his hand in his pocket, and pulled out his own cellphone. He didn't know why, but he had felt the need to take out the battery that morning, just in case something happened. He put the battery back into the device, holding the power button until it miraculously turned on. He looked at Nick, a smirk on his face.

"Hey Nick, is it better to be Smart? Or Lucky?" he asked, holding his phone up. The teen chuckled, shaking his head.

"You and Saya are a match made in heaven, honestly you are!" he said.

"Wait...you guys are together?" Savannah asked, looking between the two, earning a nod from them. She squealed loudly, hugging the two of them tightly, congratulating them over and over again. However, that ended when one of the guards came in through the gate, holding his shotgun tightly in his hand.

"It's _them._ They've broken through the barrier!" he shouted.

"Close the gates, don't let anyone though it. Defense Unit, assemble, don't let any of them through." he said.

"Don, are we just going to abandon the people that are already here?" one of them asked. Soichiro drew his sword.

"If we do not close it now, we'll lose everything." he said firmly. He kept his face firm, but in his eyes, they could see his pain and having made such a hard choice. The men nodded and quickly closed the gates, just in time to hold them all back. They pushed with all of their might, trying to keep them closed.

"One of them got through." One man cried, as one of _them_ slowly walked inside the courtyard.

"Hey, you gotta gun...shoot it." the black haired woman from before cried out, glaring right at Kohta and Hinata. They both looked at each other, hostility still in their eyes, but that's when Hinata held his fist out. Kohta looked at it oddly, finally understanding what that meant. They had a quick RoShamBo, with Kohta being the winner. He grinned, flicking the safety of his rifle off, lining the shot up.

"Looks like got one...right in my pocket!" he said, pulling the trigger. The bullet sailed right through its forehead, the head splitting apart as the body hit the ground.

"Nice! Looks like you got her scope zeroed in nicely." Hinata said, impressed with his friend's kill.

"Course I did, I did have time to play with it after all." he said with a grin.

"Sir, Madam! I've brought your things." one of the guards said, holding two firearms to them. Yuriko quickly tossed the scarf she had been holding onto to the ground, tearing her dress in a single fluid motion, revealing a holster, the handle of a gun sticking out of it.

"I'm all ready to fight, but a little backup never hurt. What about you Soichiro dear?" the woman asked, holding the CZE Vz83 submachine gun out to her husband. Instead the man drew his sword from it's scabbard, holding it out.

"I'm ready to fight! Hand that gun to Saya, it suits her better than that shotgun." the man said, small smile on his face. Yuriko turned to her daughter, holding the pistol out to her daughter.

"Here, I want you to take this." she said.

"Oh my god, that's a Luger P08, with a wooden stock and drum magazine. These guns are super rare!" Hinata said, pouring over the old firearm.

"I'm surprised you know about this kind of gun Hinata...then again you do have the basic firearm training the police go through." Kohta said.

"Actually, I know of this particular gun because my uncle has one. He collects World War 2 era pistols and rifles, this type of firearm happens to be one of his favorites, the bastard never did let me fire it." he said.

"If it's an old gun, then I wouldn't be able to use it." Saya said. Yuriko chuckled, placing it in her hands.

"I'm sure Kohta and Hinata are more than capable of teaching you how to use it. In the mean time, I need to start getting ready to fight." she said.

"I have another question for you, what are you even doing with a gun?" Saya asked, earning a smirk from her mother.

"When I was working on Wall Street, I took the executive training course. I might be an even better shot than your father!" she said with a laugh, loading a magazine into the receiver of her gun.

"Daddy, we should get into the house." Saya said, looking right at her father, determination in her eyes. The man scoffed, shaking his head.

"Our goal is to defend ourselves. They already took out the gates, even if we went inside, they would get in and we would be eaten. You should know this by now, Yoshioka!" he exclaimed, summoning one of his most loyal workers. He stood next to the man, giving him a salute.

"Sir, I saw from the second floor, the neighboring houses have yet to be attacked. We can take back the gates." He said.

"Our targets are those who have broken through. Men who can fight, prepare yourselves. Women and children who want to live, get in the back." Soichiro commanded firmly, waving his hand out. His men had already formed a firing squad in front of them. The gates finally came down, and the Freaks started coming into the courtyard.

"We have to fight you guys, we can't let these people die here!" Takashi exclaimed, getting nods from all of his friends.

"Weren't you going to find your parents?" Soichiro asked, earning a nod from the lad.

"Yes but..."

"Then you should be on your way...we'll handle everything here. Hinata...take care of my daughter." He said firmly.

"I'll protect her with my life sir!" He said proudly.

"What...no I can't leave..not when all of you need help!" Saya said. Yuriko took a firm hold of her daughter's arm, and slapped her hard across the face, leaving the young woman stunned.

"Mom..."

"Don't think for a second that this doesn't hurt us. It's tearing us apart...but we have things we have to do. I'm not leaving you because I want too, I'm leaving you because I have too...they'll keep you safe...he'll keep you safe." she said, gesturing to Hinata, who gave her a firm nod.

"Mommy, Daddy...I love you!" she said, giving her a firm hug. She grabbed her backpack off the ground, slinging it around her shoulder as she took off toward the garage after the others. Hinata was about to take off as well, when Yuriko put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to stop.

"She wants to marry you, she wouldn't have said something like that unless she meant it. She sees something in you that she didn't see in many others...remember, I want grand kids." she said, placing a black velvety box in his hand. He wanted to look inside, but the sense of urgency filled his mind. He gave the woman a smile, hugging her tightly.

"I'll keep her safe, so don't worry about her, mom." he said, giving her a wink. He shoved the ring box in his pocket and grabbed his backpack off the ground, slinging it around his shoulder. He took off toward the garage, the firing squad had already opened fire on the horde, taking a few of them down.

"Do you think they'll be alright dear?" Yuriko asked, looking at her husband. The man nodded, gripping his sword tightly.

"Of course, they have a strong leader, he just needs to realize it soon."

"Hinata, great news. The Humvee still works, but it still needs repairs, the thing is, it won't fit all of us. What should we do?" Takashi asked, looking at the black haired teen.

"I don't know man, the Humvee would be safer than the ATV, since it has a roof, but if it's gonna give us engine trouble we shouldn't bother with it." He said.

"Why don't we take both vehicles? We can easily mow through them if the buggy goes behind the Humvee. They can take out the ones the Humvee missed." Melanie said with a shrug, looking at both vehicles intently.

"That's a good idea, but it takes balls to do." Nick said.

"Takashi, Rei, Saeko, me and Saya will go on the buggy, the rest go in the Humvee, from there we can head to the East Police Station. We don't have much time, and the Freaks are closing in on us." Hinata said, taking a couple shots with his rifle.

"Takashi, what do you think of this?" Kohta asked.

"Its a good plan as any, how much longer until its ready to drive?" Takashi asked.

"Its all ready, give her a go." Matsudo said, coming out from underneath the Humvee. Shizuka turned the key, and the engine whirled to life.

"It works." she said happily, her hands tightly wrapping around the steering wheel.

"Matsudo, get in." Kohta said.

"Sorry kiddo, my love is still here, you go." he said, grabbing an adjustable wrench. Everyone quickly filed into their respective vehicles, with Takashi getting on the ATV, quickly starting the engine.

"Alright Takashi, I hope to hell you can really drive this thing."

"I can..trust your leader." He said. Hinata smirked and rose his hand up, he signaled Shizuka to go ahead of them. The Humvee zoomed by them at a break neck speed, making Nick chuckle to himself. Takashi took off after them. Hinata was able to shoot a few infected that got too close, they zoomed by the Takagi's, who were busy holding off the fort. Hinata stood up and gave them a Salute. Soichiro saluted him back, just as they passed through the gates. They landed hard on the asphalt, almost knocking him down.

"Christ, that was harder than I thought." he said.

"Sorry, wasn't expecting that." Takashi said.

They kept driving down the hill seeing Shido's bus, which had slammed into the forklift. There was narrow gap, too drive through. Somehow, the Humvee got through it, though it ended up taking the bus's door, sending shards of glass and metal flying in all directions.

"Oh God, can we make that?" Rei asked.

"We're gonna have too, hang on!" Takashi said, flooring it. Everyone closed their eyes, waiting for the crash that never came. The buggy passed right through the gap, though it scraped the bus a bit. Takashi drifted into a turn and followed the Humvee. He pulled up next to it, and Shizuka rolled the window down.

"This thing is making funny sounds, can I stop?" she asked.

"No, keep going, we need to reach the highway." Takashi said. She nodded and sped up a bit. Nick sighed and sat down.

"Man, why does everything have to turn to shit?" he asked.

"It just happens man. We better get used to it, our nights are going to be a helluva lot worse without power." Hinata said, seeing the sun was almost gone. There was nothing they could do now, the explosions coming back from the Takagi Estate would distract the Freaks, but for how long? He looked beside him, seeing the disappointed look on Saya's face. He reached for her hand, taking it in his own.

"Sweetie, it'll be alright. Your parents...their tough as nails...a horde of Freaks wouldn't take them down." he said.

"I know it's just...I wish we could have settled things on a high note, instead of through this. My face still hurts!" she said, making him chuckle. He kissed her cheek, making her blush a bit.

"There, that'll get rid of the pain." he said.

"Ugh...can you two not be a couple right now? We need to focus on making it out of here alive." Rei said, a teasing tone in her voice.

They finally reached the Highway, seeing it abandoned. Several infected were shambling around. Shizuka stopped and shut the engine off. Takashi did the same.

"Crap. _They're_ everywhere." he muttered. Thankfully, they hadn't noticed. Kohta came out from the hatch in the Humvee.

"Hey, what's the plan here?" he asked.

"We still have to reach the police station, but its getting dark, we can't be outside for much longer." Takashi said.

"Fuck, of all goddamn things to happen. I blame Shido, that fucker is the reason the estate got taken over." Nick said, tightening the grip on his gun.

"Well we gotta do something." Shizuka said.

"Why don't we just go to the mall? It's a couple kilometers from here...we can take this road all the way there." Melanie suggested, having rolled down the window on the right back door of the Humvee.

"You just want an excuse to gallivant in an empty mall with free shit you can take. No thanks, I'm not going to risk my ass for that." Saya snapped.

"That's actually not a bad idea. The doors are made of plexiglas, which is very hard to break. There's a set of double doors, so we can lock the outside doors and barricade the inside ones. All of the stores will be left with their full stock, including the grocery store, and the best part of all, the EMP wiped out the power to the city, but since it was only a small detonation, there's a high chance that there's power there, and if not the mall should be equipped with back up generators. We can siphon the gasoline from the nearby cars and use it to power on the generators. We can also use the flat roof to grow crops for when we eventually run out of food, and we can set up an irrigation system, an aquaponics station and a backup water collecting system, we can definitely make this work in our favor." Hinata said, already formulating several ideas for how they could use the mall to their advantage.

"I thought you wanted to go to Mt. Fuji, did you suddenly change your mind?" Rei asked curiously.

"Hardly...it's just that it would be easier to focus on our local area, at least until we can rescue our parents. We can't just leave Tokunosu right afterwards either, we need to prepare to leave, after all we'll be crossing through the Tokyo Metro Area, and that's bound to be filled with Freaks of all shapes and sizes, we can't just can't risk it, not at this moment at least." He said firmly.

"You know Hinata, you are actually smarter than you let on. I would have never suggested starting an aquaponics station, I doubt half of you people even know what that is. Regardless that will take weeks of planning, for now we need to focus on getting the group there. Distracting these Freaks is top priority, reaching the mall is our second, and making sure it's clear is our third. I think we might have to split into groups." Saya said.

"How would we even communicate? It's not like we have walkie talkies or anything of the sort." Nick muttered dryly. Hinata hummed to himself, his eyes widening a bit.

"Nozomi, you said you had extra batteries for your phone right? In case one of them shorted out, would you happen to have any of them on you?" he asked. The purple haired girl nodded, digging through her backpack.

"I normally take the battery out of my phone when I'm not using it, after my phone battery exploded a few years back, I didn't take any chances with it." she said, getting out of the Humvee, she slowly and quietly walked over to the ATV, handing Hinata her cellphone and the battery. He quickly put it into the phone, pressing the power button while holding his hand tightly over the speaker. He muttered a few prayers under his breath, hoping it would turn on, and when it did, he let out a sigh of relief. He waited for it to fully turn on, seeing it had a full signal on it.

"Great, now we have something to contact each other. The EMP didn't wipe out any satellites, see...I told you the satellite model would come in handy someday, and you doubted me." He said, glancing at his best friend, who just huffed in annoyance.

"Wait...you two bought your cellphones together?" Saeko asked curiously.

"Um well...they were a gift from Aiko-san for our birthdays. We were born on the same year, a couple months apart, so when we both turned fourteen, she got us both a pair of cellphones, we got to choose which ones of course. When my battery exploded on me, we decided to get flip phones because they were in style. The ones we picked not only worked with our regular cell reception but they also doubled as satellite phones, so our connection gets bounced from the satellites in orbit." She said.

"I didn't even know they had those...interesting. Well, we have a means to communicate now, all we have to do is figure out what to do about _them._ " Kohta said. He had been keeping his eye on them for awhile, and it wouldn't be long before they noticed them.

"I have a plan for that...I'll use the buggy as a source of sound and make them follow me. I'll take them down by the river, that should buy you all enough time to get outta here." Takashi said firmly.

"Takashi, don't think for a second you can just do that. You can't just run off on your own!" Rei snapped, glaring at her friend.

"If we don't do that, then we are going to get spotted. The Humvee can't go on anymore, this is likely the only working engine for kilometers, we'll be followed regardless. At least I can clear this area for you guys, we don't have choice, plus it's already sundown." He said firmly. Rei wanted to retort, but knew she couldn't as she had nothing to counter with.

"I'll go with you. You need someone to cover your back, Takashi. We can work silently and make it to the mall by tomorrow morning." Saeko said, earning a nod from him.

"Alright then, let's get ready." Takashi said.

"Hey man, are you sure about this? I can come along for back up, I may not be the best sharp shooter, but I'm still good enough." Hinata said. The teen shook his head, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I need you to watch over them for me. You have what it takes to lead without me here. If the need arises where you have to leave, then I want Kohta to take over for you, is that alright?" Takashi asked, looking at the two teenagers. Hinata gave him a firm nod, while Kohta simply gave him a thumbs up.

"Takashi, take this...I want you to be safe out there alright?" Saya said, handing him her shotgun, along with her ammo satchel. He took them both in his hand, giving her a smile.

"Thanks Saya." he replied.

Everyone filed out of the buggy, hiding behind an overturned car. Takashi slung the Ithaca across his shoulder, cracking his neck as he restarted the buggy. Saeko hung on tightly as he drove to the middle of the street, revving the engine as loudly as he could. All of the Freaks looked in his direction, slowly shambling toward the black buggy. Their grimy hands reached for the two, their groans growing louder as they drove off, heading toward the river.

"Come on you motherfuckers! Fresh meat!" Takashi howled, just before he disappeared from sight. The sound of the engine carried out throughout the area, making all of the Freaks follow them. Within minutes the entire road had been clear.

"So, what exactly is the plan?" Kohta asked curiously, looking through the scope of his AR-10, making sure they were truly alone, the distant sound of the buggy still echoing through the area. Hinata took out his map, quickly finding the road they were on. Tracing the path with his finger, he mentally counted how many blocks away they were from the mall.

"Okay, so we're approximately 24 blocks from the mall, depending on how fast you all move, we can cover half of that within half an hour, though with all of our supplies and all of the dangers, that will only add to our time. I would estimate us reaching the mall at eleven at night, give or take a few hours." Hinata said.

"Are you sure about that? You could be wrong." Rei said.

"He isn't wrong, trust me. We mapped the area out together when were trying to reach Mercy Hospital, and we got there at the allotted times we set for ourselves. We just have to keep a good pacing, our eyes and ears clear and not make a single sound. Also, we have to be careful, we don't want to run into any Runners while we're out here." Saya said firmly.

"R-runners?" Shizuka asked curiously.

"Oh right, we never did tell you about them. Runners are like regular Freaks, except they are much stronger and faster than them. They can climb and run at fast paces without wearing out. There aren't that many of them, but if we do manage to run into any of them we have to be careful. Also Kohta, I want you to take this, in case we do run into any Runners or into a bigger horde of _them._ " Hinata said, handing the teen one of the pipe bombs he created. The teen looked it over, eyes widening.

"How did you make something like this? Let alone making it work...it must have taken you a long time." he muttered.

"Not really, it's just a couple of household chemicals in the proper proportions. Those things have a helluva a lot of power, so throw it if you mean it and duck for cover. I also have a couple road flares to light our path, if we run into another police car, we'll need to search it for more. Also, keep an eye out for cars with keys in the ignition, we might be able to find one that works." Hinata said, earning nods from his friends. He pulled his suppressor from his backpack, quickly twisting it onto the barrel of his rifle. He pressed the button on the flashlight, the bright beam serving as a small beacon for them. He handed the kerosene lamp to Shizuka, along with a small box of matches.

"I made sure to fill that back at Saya's, keep it dim enough to see. We don't want to reveal ourselves to anyone." he said firmly.

"Okay...but who would see it? _They_ can't exactly see light you know." She said.

"I'm not worrying about the Freaks, I'm talking about other people. Before, everything was about surviving, everyone just had that mutual agreement, but now that there's no power in the city, most of the city anyway, people are going to start getting desperate. Desperate enough to steal from others, desperate enough to kill others for their supplies. I'm only saying this once, but if you ever feel threatened, by anyone on the road, do not hesitate to kill them. I surely won't." Hinata said.

"We're not supposed to kill the living cousin, that's wrong." Rei said, looking at her older cousin who just narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm sorry Rei, but that's the way of the world now. We shouldn't fear the dead, we should fear the living. Now come on, before Takashi and Saeko's distraction goes to waste." he said, taking point. As much as they hated to agree with him, Hinata was right. The world was starting to fall apart, and it was only growing worse by the second. They couldn't take chances anymore, even though they were trying to survive, they wanted to keep their humanity intact, for how long, that was a question that no one knew the answer too.

 **A/N: Cookie goes to whoever can guess the two movie references I made in this chapter.**


	11. Dead Center

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 11

Dead Center

When the sun fully went down, was when everyone truly saw how dark the world was. Thanks to the EMP, the entire city, if not country had been thrown into the semi darkness. There was little to no light anywhere, other than the obscure light being cast on the world from the moon. Aside from a few fires that had been set, the city of Tokunosu was completely dark. The mall was still several blocks away, 24 blocks in the dark was way further than anyone could ever walk. With _them_ hanging around, it was even harder. Hinata snuck to the side of an abandoned police cruiser. He held his hand up, signaling Rei to stop. His face was soaked in sweat from the hot and humid night air, and the fact that he had been running for cover whenever a stray Freak would show up was also one of the reasons he was perspiring so much. He peeked around the front of it, finding it clear any Freaks, though the seats were smeared with thick coagulated blood, and a single human hand, that was still holding onto the steering wheel. He silently opened the car door and used his flashlight to look around inside. He spotted the keys still in the ignition, but he knew a police car wouldn't fit all of his friends inside, so he didn't even bother with it.

"Are you sure there are flares here?" he whispered, they hadn't had luck with the last police car they had found, even with the knowledge he had from his mother, he wasn't sure how well stocked the cars would be.

"Yes, its standard protocol for all officers on duty to have twelve flares in their cars, should they need them." She replied. He nodded and grabbed the keys from the ignition. He slipped them into the glove compartment door and turned it, slowly opening it. Just like she said, inside lay twelve road flares, the long red sticks almost resembling roman candles were held together by a single rubber band. There was also an Orion 12 gauge flare gun with six flares for it, all of them being inside a small rectangular box. He smiled and passed the road flares to the young spear user. He grabbed the flare gun and opened it, finding a flare inside it. He had seen these a lot on television, but had never held one before. He was surprised to see how light it was, even with it being made out of plastic, he expected it to be a little heavier.

"Okay, six shells, one in the chamber, this will help us a lot." he muttered, stuffing the shells in his jacket pocket. He held his flashlight up and flicked it on and off a few times, the rest of his team saw the light and decided to run up to them, having been hiding behind a large truck a few hundred meters away.

"Any luck?" Kohta asked, panting a bit from the light jog he had taken to the car.

"Yeah, we got 12 of them, and a flare gun with seven flares. Anyone who doesn't have a flashlight, take a flare. To use them, take the cap off, underneath it is a red strike pad. You pull the white cover off and strike the flare on the pad. It should last a good twenty minutes, but use it only if you need it." he said. They nodded, each taking a flare for their own, though they all placed them in their packs, sticking out a bit so they could easily grab it. Hinata handed the orange flare gun to Alice, who looked at it curiously.

"What's this for Hinata-chan?" she asked curiously. He knelt before her, a small smile on his face.

"Did your parents ever tell you what to do if you ever got lost?" he asked her, earning a nod from her in return.

"They told me to find an adult I could trust, like a police officer. If I couldn't find one, then I had to stay in place until they came looking for me." she replied.

"That's right, I got the same advice as a kid. There aren't any police officers around anymore, and it's dangerous to stay in place. If you get separated from us, I want you to hide from them. When you are safe, hold this gun to the air and pull the trigger. That flare is bright enough for all of us to see it, and when we do we'll come running. Savannah, I want you to watch her back alright? If you see her get separated from us, go with her, I trust you will do what's right." he said, passing her the rest of the flares. Savannah nodded, placing them in her fanny pack.

"You can trust me Mr. Hinata, I'll keep her safe!" the redheaded girl said, wrapping an arm around the younger girl. The two had been getting along great, almost as if they were siblings. It always brought a smile to Hinata's face. He stood up, glancing down the road, seeing a few figures shambling around. Several street lights were still functioning, though most of them had been flickering, some outright exploding in showers of sparks that only served to attract more Freaks to that area. The road was straight for now, without a single place they could deviate too. He did see a few buildings in the distance, but he didn't know if they were businesses or residential homes, he couldn't tell.

"Damn it, I wish I would have gone out more. Maybe Esthia was right about setting the controller down and getting some fresh air." he muttered.

"Hey dweeb, I know this area like the back of my hand, what do you need to find?" Melanie asked firmly, stepping next to Hinata. Saya scowled a bit, almost wanting to slap the blonde. Hinata didn't seem to care about her chosen nickname for him, then again she had been calling him that for two years now, so what would be the point of she changed it up now of all times?

"I need to find a secure building, a place where we can rest up and have a good focal point so we can see our surroundings. Preferably a place where we can barricade ourselves."

"That's a hefty request, but I do happen to know about a small plaza filled with mom and pop shops. There is one that is suitable for us, it's called GloBowl Arena." she said.

"The arcade? Why there?" Saya asked curiously.

"Well, it's a stable building, only two entrances, the front and the back, and it has an apartment above it, where the owners lived. If you want access to the roof, then you'll definitely get it from there, they have this big inflatable penguin they like to put up in the summer, my friend Hide used to help them set it up, so I've been on the roof before. Should be a good vantage point." Melanie said.

"Then that's our play, we need to head there now, how far?" he asked.

"Three blocks, we already crossed the river, it shouldn't be too far from here." she said. He nodded, once again taking point. He took out the nearby shamblers, giving Kohta and Rei a nod.

They moved quietly after that, keeping an eye on their surroundings. It was a little to silent for his liking, but it was different now than it had been before. Without any lights or any other source of sound, they were a walking advertisement for the Freaks running around. The only light source he could see in the entire city was Mercy Hospital, which seemed completely unaffected by the EMP, in fact it seemed like that entire part of the city was still with power. He did see several buildings around them with power as well, while most of the grid was still inactive. It was better than nothing, so he wasn't one to complain.

"Hinata, do you think we could have a quick talk?" Kohta asked, making the teen look at him curiously. Rei seemed to be doing fine, so he could spare a few minutes, he gave him the go ahead, and he started the conversation.

"It's about Takagi, she spoke to me before we left the Estate." he said quietly.

"Yes, she told me about it. I'd like to apologize to you Kohta...I don't know exactly what you are feeling right now and I feel extremely bad, since I'm the one that put you in that position, directly or otherwise." he said.

"Don't be sorry, this wasn't your choice..it was hers. I just wanted to make a request...if you are willing to hear me out." he said.

"Sure thing buddy, anything." he said.

"Take care of her, I can tell how in love you are with her...it isn't hard to see it actually. You have that same dumb look I had when ever she passed me in the hallway. The more I think about it, the more I see the similarities between you two...so as long as she's happy with you, then I'm happy." he said. Hinata nodded, chuckling lightly.

"I promise you I'll take care of her Kohta. You know, for a second I thought you were going to shoot me or something." he said.

"Heh, shoot you? Me? Please that's a waste of a bullet, I wouldn't kill a brother, not when he's helped me out so much. Hey listen, I'd like to ask you about Nozomi, would you mind if I get to know her a little better? She asked me to teach her about guns the other day, and I didn't really approve, I wanted to ask you first."

"As long as she is willing, then go for it. She's a one of a kind girl, treat her well alright? I've dealt with too many assholes vying for her affections in the past, and I don't want to kill you...it'd be a waste of a bullet." he said.

"Look alive you morons, we got Freaks four hundred meters ahead of us." Saya snapped, holding her Luger tightly in her hands. She was still getting used to the vintage gun, as she hadn't fired a handgun before and she wasn't sure exactly how to use it, though Hinata had been too eager to want to teach her, mostly because of said gun. Hinata shined his light at them, there were at least twenty five of them, hiding behind a few cars. He grit his teeth, already lining his first shot.

"Wait, maybe we can walk past them...they might not notice us." Rei said.

"That won't work...they still have a partial sense of smell, if we get closer to them, they might notice that we're not dead." he replied.

"Um, how is that possible? They ignored us at the school when we were trying to get out." Nozomi said quietly.

"Yes, but the virus is changing them. There are some that can't smell for shit, but there are some that can pick up distinct scents, body odor being one of them. But when I was covered in their blood, they ignored me completely." Hinata said.

"So, what exactly will we do? There are a few behind us now." Nick said, tightening his grip on his shotgun. Hinata shifted his aim, pulling the trigger, he nailed the side of a parked Sedan, shattering the windshield. The bullet struck the dashboard, causing the passenger side Airbag to inflate. A second shot made the bag explode, the loud pop filling the area. All of the Freaks heard it, and started shambling toward the car, clearing the path enough for them to slip by them.

"Very nice! I wouldn't have thought of that." Kohta said, impressed with his friend's quick thinking.

"Well, it just suddenly hit me. It doesn't take much for a car's airbag to deploy, so I figured that would be a useful distraction." he said with a shrug.

They remained relatively silent after that, wanting to hurry to the arcade. They didn't have that much trouble with them as they walked in relative peace. The amount of cars had increased quite a bit, and it was clear to them that the people trying to abandon the city ended up leaving their cars aside. It was a little hard to make their way around some cars, while some people like Rei and Hinata simply walked over them, using the added height to their advantage. Hinata spotted a large Gasoline tanker not far from where they were, and decided to go onto it, using the ladder on the back to climb up.

"Be careful up there Hinata, I don't want you to break your neck." Saya called out to him, keeping her voice down of course. He chuckled, giving her a smile.

"I'm not gonna fall off sweetheart, besides, I'm sure Shizuka can break my fall." he said, making a few of their friends laugh, though the joke went completely over the blonde woman's head.

"I'll catch you if you fall Hinata-kun, and if you hurt yourself, we have plenty of medicine!" she said cheerfully. Once atop the truck, he soot by the center of it, scanning his surroundings. The blockage of cars cleared up a bit a block or two ahead of them. He could see the neon sign of GloBowl not that far from where they were, and he was surprised to see it was on. He was happy and concerned at the same time. He was happy that the building had power, and he was concerned that someone else might have gone into that building for the same reason. If they made it to that place and it was empty, the first thing he was going to do was shut down that sign, and if there were people inside, as much as it pained him, he would have to leave in order to find a suitable place. He wasn't going to risk the safety of his family. He climbed back down, his boots softly clacking on the pavement.

"The arcade has power, but we have to be careful. We have no idea who could be in there." he said.

"If it's anyone hostile, I hope you and Kohta will be able to handle it." she said firmly. He gave her a peck on the lips, running his fingers through one of her long pink ponytails.

"I'll handle it, don't you worry." he said. She blushed a bit, and was really thankful for the darkness in the area.

Continuing on, they all carefully walked through the pile up of cars, crossing a heavy intersection that still had it's lights functioning. The soft click of the lights changing was the only thing they could hear, and it was really starting to bother them. Hinata looked briefly at the sky, completely entranced by what he saw. Millions of little stars had dotted the sky, something that he had never seen before, due to all of the light in the city, now that the city was partially dark, he could see it clearly.

"It's so beautiful...I've never seen so many twinkling stars." he said breathlessly, still glancing at the sky.

"Tell me about it. Even in this new world, we can still enjoy the little things." Nick said happily, also looking at the sky. Hinata smiled a bit, making a mental note to himself.

"Hold up!" Kohta suddenly said, forcing everyone to stop. Hinata brushed past everyone else, cutting to the front of the group. He inwardly kicked himself for getting too distracted. Kohta was standing by an abandoned taxi, using his bi-pod to stabilize his rifle. He had it aimed at the parking lot of the small plaza they were trying to reach. He licked his lips, his eye shifting a bit as he looked at everything around him.

"Bad news man, that place is filled with _them_. A hundred or so, all wondering around aimlessly." He said quietly.

"Shit, what about the stores? Any signs of life coming from inside any of them?" he asked. Kohta remained silent, looking around for a few more seconds.

"It doesn't seem so, this place looks deader than hell, though we might want to do a sweep if we do manage to sneak past them all." he said.

"Actually, I have an idea. You wanna see my pipe bomb in action?" He asked, pulling one from his backpack. Thanks to Don Takagi, he had been able to make a few extra ones that they could use for emergencies like this. He liked his original ones the best, but he had to say his second rendition were a little more powerful than his first ones were. He had access to many chemicals and hundreds of spare parts he was able to use to his heart's content. If there was something Hinata was good at, it was chemistry, and there was always a reason why people said never to mix cleaning supplies, since the world ended, he had wanted to blow a lot of shit up, and now was a perfect excuse.

"Wont that explosion attract more of them our way? We don't want that to happen." Shizuka said, a worried look on her face. Hinata nodded in agreement. He couldn't just toss the bomb and be done with it, the explosion would attract more to that area. Getting rid of some to attract more wasn't just redundant, and a waste of a bomb. He looked around for a few seconds, spotting something that made him grin.

"Man, it really must be my lucky day." he said, jogging toward the dirt bike that had been abandoned on the side of the road. It was a Kawasaki KX 85, a really popular dirt bike that was often driven by teenagers and motocross enthusiasts. Thankfully, this type of bike was one that started via kick starter, and due to being boxed in, it seemed like the driver had just abandoned it. He slung his rifle across his shoulder, grabbing the bike by the handle bars and standing it up on its tires. He shook it a bit, nodding to himself.

"Seems like it still has a relatively full tank. It's a good model too, with several modifications, a nice strong engine and a smooth muffler too." he muttered to himself.

"Oh _Christ_ , you are up to something aren't you?" Saya asked.

"Indeed I am. You see, I can't just throw them bomb and kill all of those Freaks near the plaza, that would just attract more. But if I were to lead them somewhere else and then throw the bomb, I could kill them all and not risk more showing up." he said.

"It's a good plan, but are you sure you want to risk yourself like that?" Nick asked curiously.

"Yes cousin, I don't want you to do something so reckless."

"Sorry Rei, but I'm the only one who can. It's better this way, I can have this done in ten minutes tops." he said.

"I'm not letting you do this alone. You focus on driving, I'll throw the bomb!" Saya said. He gave her a firm nod, handing her the bomb while he wheeled the bike around the cars.

"Big brother Hinata, Bis Sis Saya, please be careful." Savannah said. Hinata ruffled her hair, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"We will, remember, keep Alice safe alright?" he asked.

"I will...good luck, you reckless bloke!" she said firmly.

He wheeled the bike toward an open area and looked around for a few seconds, before climbing onto it. Three swift kicks and the motorcycle roared to life, instantly filling the area with the obnoxious sound of a loud engine. Saya climbed aboard, wrapping her arms around his waist, though she was having a hard time due to his pack. She gave him a nod and he drove off, passing right through the parking lot they were aiming for. He did a quick sweep of the stores, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. He revved the engine loudly a couple of times, getting the attention of the Freaks, who slowly started going after them.

"Jeez, this really is a bad idea." Saya muttered dryly, seeing the sheer amount of Freaks in the area. Surely they had seen way more at the barricade a few days back, but seeing them in the open like this was really bad. He drove out of the parking lot, revving the engine a couple more times. His eyes widened when a few of them started sprinting toward him, until finally they all decided to chase after them. He quickly shifted into second gear and took off, dodging all of the parked cars that were around them.

"Shit, I wasn't expecting them to be Runners, we're they just pretending?" he asked curiously.

"I really doubt they would be that freaking smart, take a left here." Saya instructed, earning a nod from the teen. He drifted into the turn, the back end of the bike slamming hard into a street sign before he drove off.

"Sorry, you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just don't take sharp turns like that. They're still following us, let's just throw the bomb!" she said.

"No, they would follow the loudest sound. I'm gonna cut the engine, you throw the bomb, when it explodes we'll double back." he said.

"Sounds like a plan, go for it." she said, pulling the silver zippo lighter from her bra. He pressed the button on the handle bars, shutting the engine off, using their momentum to keep their speed for a few precious seconds. Saya lit the fuse on the bomb and pressed the button, throwing it into an open car. The beeping was louder than the previous bombs he had made, attracting every Shambler and Runner in the area to the car. All of them were banging on the outside, groaning and shrieking, trying to get into the car to grab their oh so precious noise. The bomb reached it's fever pitch and finally exploded, sending chunks of flesh and metal in all directions, the car's explosion took them out entirely. Hinata had taken the chance and restarted the motorcycle, turning down another street and doubling back to the arcade.

"Jesus, what did you put in those things?" she asked curiously.

"A mixture of rubbing alcohol, gun powder, bleach and some lavender Fabuloso for that fresh scent your floors deserve." he said, giving her a wink. She slapped his shoulder, trying not to laugh. A sudden gunshot filled their ears, and the front wheel of the motorcycle locked up. Hinata quickly slid to a stop, gritting his teeth as his arm skid the ground. Another gun shot rung through the area, striking the ground next to his head.

"Quick, find some cover!" he called out, getting off the bike. He and Saya broke into a dead sprint, diving behind a car, which instantly started being shot at.

"They got supplies! I don't give a shit if their kids, kill them both!" the voice of a man cried. Hinata heard the sound of a magazine being replaced, along with the sound of a slide. He heard more footsteps as well, he counted at least two more people, and all of them were armed, one with a shotgun, the other two with handguns, he assumed so anyway. He looked at Saya, seeing the frightened look that was written on her face. He shook his head, his eyes filled with anger.

" _How dare they shoot at my girl?"_ he thought angrily as he grabbed Charlotte, flicking the safety off. He unscrewed the silencer and shifted it into three round burst mode. He stood up, opening fire on their assailants. He didn't see anyone, but he heard their cries of surprise.

"Oh shit! They're armed, take them down!"

Hinata knelt back down, the sound of the buckshot hitting the side of the car, shook him up a bit, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. His heart was pumping and he could feel the blow flowing through his veins. That familiar rush entered his system and he started chuckling. He only wished he had his shotgun, or the Ithaca, so he could try that neat trick he had learned from Kohta. He looked around for anything he could use to his advantage, seeing the street lights were still on, two swift bursts later and they were in complete darkness. This only made him chuckle even more.

"Hinata?" Saya whispered, her Luger in hand. He looked at her, giving her a wink.

"Under the car, don't come out for anything." he said firmly, shrugging off his backpack, stuffing it under the car. Saya nodded and crawled under the car. He noticed her arm and leg was bleeding a bit, from the road rash they had gotten. Hinata dashed toward a nearby van, pressing himself against the side of the car, keeping his ear perked up as he screwed his silencer back into place, flicking the switch bag to semi-automatic.

"These kids are smart, maybe we should leave them be." one man said, his voice a bit shaky.

"Kenji, I swear to god, if you say something like that I'll take you out myself. Besides, there's a girl with that kid, a smokin one, pussy like that is hard to find nowadays. Let's kill the kid, and take his girl with us." the first man said. Hinata grit his teeth so hard he swore one of them cracked. He peeked around the car, barely being able to see them, but he saw three figures, standing a few meters away from each other. He rose Charlotte to his shoulder, finger on the trigger. He lined up the sight and pulled the trigger, the man's body dropped like a sack of bricks, the spent shell casing hitting the ground right after.

"Jesus Christ, Nash!" the man, who he assumed was Kenji cried out, seeing his friend now dead on the ground.

"Fan out man, get that kid before he kills us both. Shit, I didn't expect him to have a silencer, fucking Special Defense Force fucks."

Hinata crept around the side of the van, taking aim at Kenji, letting out a swift shot right to the back of his head. His body slammed into the car Saya was underneath, and he swore he heard her tiny squeal of surprised shock. The first man turned around, shooting off his shotgun, hitting the side of the van, taking the mirror right off, thankfully Hinata had taken cover. He hit the magazine release on his rifle and placed a new one in the receiver, pulling the slide back.

"You know kid, you really are making this hard on me. You just killed my two best friends you know." the man said, speaking out loud. Hinata narrowed his eyes, and started moving around, trying to see if he could get a clean shot on him. Thankfully he had moved away from the car Saya was hiding under.

"This world is messed up, isn't it? One day, you are working nine to five in some dead end job, and the next you are trying to survive. You have to watch your family die, your son and daughter get torn apart by those Freaks, your wife, the love of your life, killed by those undead fucks!" he continued, anger flowing through his voice. He was slowly loading more shells into his shotgun. Hinata didn't hear the sound of it being cocked back, so he could only assume it was an automatic model.

"My old life is gone! Those two were my only friends, and you killed them...so when I find you and your woman, I am going to teach you what it means to fuck with me. I'll make you watch as I take her as my own, and then I'll kill her right in front of your eyes, so you can feel what I feel...it'll be wonderful, so why don't you come out already?" he shouted. Hinata licked his lips, his grip on Charlotte tightening a bit. He moved forward, trying to find a new place to hide when he saw the barrel of a Spas 12 pointed right to his face.

The man holding it was around six feet tall, with dark colored skin, his face covered in sweat, hair shaved down to a buzz cut. He was wearing a torn formal button down shirt, which stuck out of his dress pants. He had a loosened red tie around his neck, the bottom of the shirt was drenched in blood. He was wearing a worn down pair of oxford shoes, smeared in old blood. The man grinned, his brown eyes filled with light.

"Hello there!" he exclaimed. Hinata closed his eyes, the sound of a gunshot filling his ears. He opened his eyes, seeing the man had dropped his shotgun, clutching his shoulder in pain. Hinata looked up, seeing Saya holding her Luger up, the barrel smoking lightly, her face dotted with blood, eyes soaked in tears. Hinata took his chance and quickly stood up, slamming the stock of his gun into the man's face, sending blood all over the place. He fell to the ground, and started crawling away from them.

"Wait...please I was only joking." the man said.

"Oh? So now that you are on the loosing side of this little scuffle, you try to beg for your life? You are a scum bag, a fucking piece of shit who doesn't deserve to live." Saya snapped angrily, still aiming at the man.

"You won't win...you can kill me now, but this world has changed, if it isn't me, then it'll be another. Hot pieces of ass like you don't last long in this world, you won't survive long...eventually you'll become one of them!" he shouted. A gunshot echoed through the area, as the man's head snapped back from the bullet, the hole in his head still bleeding. Saya looked to Hinata who was holding his M1911 up, the barrel smoking a bit. He was trembling in anger, holding back every once of it so he wouldn't waste the entire magazine on the deceased man's body. He flicked the safety on and placed it back in his holster, slinging his rifle around his shoulder. He walked over to the dead man and checked his pockets, pulling out seventeen shotgun shells, five of them were green and the rest were red. He handed them to Saya, grabbing the Spas 12 off the ground, checking it over.

"Looks like this shotgun holds ten shells in the tube, it's a fully automatic so it'll kick harder, be sure to pull the trigger once or else it'll keep firing." he said, handing it too her.

"Aren't we going to talk about what just happened Hinata?" she asked firmly. He shook his head and walked over to where the now dead Kenji laid. He grabbed his backpack, and knelt down next to the man, grabbing the Glock 17 still in his grasp, along with the six spare magazines he had on him.

"We just avoided death, what's the big deal?" he asked curiously, placing the gun in his backpack. He moved on to the final man, picking up his handgun from the ground. He was surprised to see that particular model. It was a Tokarev 9mm, or as he knew it, a Black Star type 54. It was a Romanian gun that was one of the more popular hand guns in the Russian World War II. It was originally of Russian design but many people had copied it and made replicas of it, some of the original ones that were used by the Soviets were still around, to see a gun like this, it made him very happy.

"Man, by uncle is going to flip when he sees this beauty." he muttered to himself, flicking the safety one, placing the ten spare magazines in his backpack. He zipped it back up, slinging it around his shoulders.

"Hinata! We just killed people, aren't you shocked or something?" Saya asked. She was still trembling from what had happened. She had never shot a living person before. Seeing Hinata singlehandedly take down three armed men, it was a shocking thing to witness, it was even more shocking to see that he didn't feel a single ounce of remorse.

"You didn't kill people sweetie, I did. They were going to kill us, so I had to kill them first. It's the way of the world now...people like him, they are going to be more dangerous than the Freaks ever will. Like I said before, it isn't the dead we should fear, it's the living. Let's see if one of these cars starts so we can go back to the Arcade." he said, walking toward a nearby car. Saya swallowed hard, wiping the blood off her face and glasses with her shirt. She looked back at the bodies of the three men he had just killed, seeing the crimson blood spilling on the floor. It was hard to get used to, but he was right, the world had changed, and so had the people.

They checked a few of the cars with keys in them, but none of the managed to turn over, so they were forced to leave them behind. He ended up coming up on another S.A.T. armored vehicle, the sleek black van had been parked on the side of the road, the back doors still open. He peeked inside, seeing a Kevlar vest still hanging from the hooks on the side of it. He took it off the hook and handed it to Saya.

"Here babe, put it on, at least you'll be somewhat safe." he said.

"I'm not wearing that. It would kill my boobs, besides, Kevlar wont stop assault rifles and buckshot." she replied. He sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get her to wear it. Instead, he shrugged his backpack and rifle off, and placed the vest over himself. His uncle had taught him how to put one on when he was younger, and while at that point it was bigger than him, now it fit his body perfectly. He spotted an extra pair of armored gloves, and decided to put them on as well. He closed the doors and walked around to the driver's side, opening the door and checking inside for any Freaks. Spotting the keys in the ignition, he grabbed them and turned them hard, making the engine roar to life. He chuckled dryly to himself.

"Goddamn it, why is it that all of the emergency vehicles always work for me? Firetrucks, ambulances, police cruisers, now this armored vehicle, maybe it's in my blood to be a cop!" he said with a grin.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Let's just get outta here already." Saya said, climbing into the passenger side. Hinata got in and flicked the locks closed, shifting into reverse, he backed out of the spot he was in, before turning fully around, heading back the way they had come. They passed by the spot where the scuffle had occurred, but neither of them said anything. At least until Saya decided to bring it up. She had been looking at her right arm, seeing the big red rash that was left on her skin from the pavement. Her skirt had been torn, and most of her leg had been protected by the cloth, but she still had some spots where the skin was red and bleeding.

"Are we gonna tell everyone else about what happened?" She asked, looking up at Hinata, who's focus was still on the road.

"Do you want to? It'll be hard to explain but...I think at least Kohta should know." he replied.

"I was thinking...we might be able to keep it a secret for a bit. It's a bitter pill to swallow, I'm still imagining that man getting his brains blown out of his skull...so sorry if I sound a bit dejected."

"Don't be...I'm still imagining it too...the rush, the feeling of almost dying...the feeling of that recoil on my shoulder when I pulled the trigger..Jesus I must sound so fucked up talking right now." he said.

"A little bit...but I don't blame you...getting enjoyment from killing bad people...I think we all would feel that way...after awhile." she admitted, deciding to leave her injury alone for the time being. They drove in silence after that, not wanting to continue their talk. After ten minutes or so had passed, they pulled over, a few hundred meters away from the arcade, as to not attract attention with the sound of the engine. Hinata turned it off, and pulled the keys from the ignition, shoving them in his vest pocket. They grabbed their packs and stepped out of the van, back into the crisp night air. Hinata felt ready to drop, but he knew he wasn't going to get any sleep, not until he was sure his family was safe from harm. He did a quick sweep of the lot, making his way toward the now darkened arcade, the sign having been turned off. He walked right up to the door and peeked inside, giving two swift knocks on the door. He didn't see any movement for a few seconds, until he saw Savannah racing toward the doors. She turned the lock and pushed the door outward, allowing them to come inside. She locked up right after.

"About time you showed up. Nozomi was about to ring you on the tele, just to see if you were alright." she said.

"Sorry, we had a bit of trouble, we're fine though. Where is everyone?" he asked.

"In the bowling arena, this way." she said, guiding the two toward the rest of their group. Saya took a firm hold of his hand, giving it a tight squeeze as they walked, which he reciprocated. They finally made it toward the bowling area, seeing most of the tables near the front being occupied by their friends. The neon lights lighting up the path toward the pins were on, giving the entire room a light glow to it. The sounds of the old game machines filling their ears.

"What took you guys? We were all worried." Rei said firmly, standing up from her seat, rifle still in hand. Nozomi was already at Hinata's side, checking him over for injuries, her eyes widening when she saw his arm was bleeding.

"What happened?" she asked. He looked at Saya, who gave him a nod. He took a deep breath, licking his lips.

"This was gonna happen sooner or later, thankfully all of you were here and not with us. Savannah, please take Alice somewhere else, I don't want either of you hearing this. Here's some spare change so you can play some of the games." he said, handing her some of the money he had taken from the register of the gas station, days ago. Her eyes widened a bit at seeing all of that money, but she didn't question it. She took Alice's hand and ran off, raving about trying her luck on the claw machines.

"Why did you send them away? Did something that bad happen?" Melanie asked curiously, looking up from her spot on the front counter near the register. She had been filing her nails quietly to herself, a bored look on her face. Hinata looked at her, giving her a nod.

"Where did you find that shotgun? That's a Franchi Spas 12, a military shotgun used by armies all around the world. That type of gun is illegal here, unless the Special Defense Forces left them behind." Kohta said, dying to check the gun in Saya's hands.

"We ran into three men when we were doubling back to the arcade. We had already taken care of the Freaks when they shot at us. The front tire of the bike locked up and we ended up sliding across the ground, getting the road rash that you saw Nozomi. They kept shooting at us, wanting to steal our supplies. One man voiced how he wanted to find Saya so he could rape and kill her, right in front of my eyes. So I killed them." he said firmly, without any hint of regret in his voice. Everyone remained silent, unable to even respond. Rei's grip on her rifle loosened a bit, and she ended up setting it down beside a rack of bowling balls.

"You did what?" she asked.

"I shot three men in the head because they wanted to kill us. Is that such a bad thing?" he asked.

"Of course it is, we don't kill the living! What is wrong with you Hinata!?" She exclaimed.

"Nothing is wrong with me Rei, I killed them to defend myself and my girlfriend, what the fuck was I supposed to do? Let them find her so they could all rape her and then kill her? Hell no, I wasn't going to let that happen. I made a promise to her parents to keep her safe and goddamn it I will. I'll do the same for you, for Nozomi, for Melanie and Shizuka, for all of you, I will kill every last fucker that attempts to rape any of you, and if there's a sick fuck that likes going after guys, then I'll blow his dick right off his body, no questions asked." he said firmly.

"I...I can't believe you. I know it's bad out there but that is no reason to kill people."

"And if it had been you and Takashi, and he did the same, would you be saying this right now? Would you be standing in our spot telling us this bullshit? Would you Rei? Because I don't think you have the balls to do it!" Saya snapped back, getting a scowl from the auburn haired girl.

"Um...maybe we should cool down a bit, I need to take care of those injuries anyway." Shizuka said, clapping her hands. Hinata took a deep breath, looking right at his cousin.

"I swear, if I see another person trying to hurt any of us, trying to take our supplies, trying to rape my friends, I will shoot him on the spot, no questions asked, so get used to it. The next man you see might have his brains blown out the back of his head right before your eyes." he spat angrily. Rei walked off, grabbing her rifle and walking off to the other end of the arcade, Nozomi following right after. Melanie on the other hand was quite impressed.

"Never thought I would see the day where Hinata Miyamoto finally snapped. I know I don't say this enough, but thank you...for keeping all of us safe. It must be hard for you both, but he's right, it could have been any of us, and if it were me, I don't think I would have pulled the trigger...hell I don't even have a gun on me." she said.

"Speaking of that, I did recover the weapons those two had. I want you to take one of them as your own." Hinata said, placing his pack on one of the tables, as Shizuka had already pulled out some medical supplies to take care of their injuries. Hinata hummed to himself as he drew the Glock 17 and the spare magazines from his pack, placing it on the table. He also pulled out the Tokarev, setting it beside it, having pulled out the magazines and placed them on the table.

"Sweet, we were in need of more side arms, and I have to say these two are very good in the accuracy department. You got lucky Hinata...I'll take a quick look at them to make sure their in working order. Melanie, you'll be the owner of this Glock 17, it has little kickback to it and it's easy to use, I'll show you how to use it alright?" Kohta asked.

"Whatever, I'm down for some shooting practice. Those bowling pins will make excellent targets." she said.

"We'll practice on the roof then. How long are we staying here Hinata?" Kohta asked, looking at the black haired man.

"Until sunrise, maybe a couple hours after. We'll block the doors and get some rest, we'll leave after breakfast." he said. Kohta nodded and sat down at the table, checking the Glock to make sure there wasn't a round in the chamber, once done he started taking it apart, while Melanie watched in rapt attention, as he explained all of the various parts and mechanisms that made the gun work. Hinata sat down on the other side of the long table, watching as Saya was being checked over by Shizuka. He took out his spare knife and pulled it from the sheathe. He placed his gun on the table after making sure it wasn't going to misfire, he started carving three lines beside the name Charlotte. Saya and Shizuka watched him for a few seconds, curiosity eating at their minds.

"I'm making tally marks, if you must know." he said, looking at the two women. Shizuka tilted her head, her long hair almost touching the ground.

"What for dear?"

"So I won't forget." he said simply, deciding not to talk anymore. Saya winced a bit as the nurse applied the antiseptic solution to her leg, along with some ointment. She grabbed a roll of gauze and started wrapping her leg up, giving it a little kiss right after.

"Um...what's the kiss for?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, I used to do that to my niece whenever she got a boo boo. It always made her happy...I hope she's alright...she's only six years old you know." she said sadly.

"I'm sure she's alright, your sister or brother will be fine too Miss Shizuka." Hinata reassured.

"Brother actually, and yes I know he'll be fine. He isn't one to bow down before a fight. Alright, let me see that arm Saya." she said, rolling the girl's sleeve up.

"We'll have to be careful now, if there are people at the mall, which is a likely possibility, we'll have to explain to them that these aren't bite marks." Saya said.

"Or I can shoot first and ask questions never...that would be a last resort solution. Doubt those fucks even have any guns on them." he said, placing his knife away.

"Let's hope so. Alright Hinata, your turn."

 _xxx_

Hinata frowned a bit. It was around ten in the morning, thanks to his alarm he had been one of the first to wake up. While the others were downstairs in the apartment getting breakfast ready, he had taken it upon himself to scan the area for Freaks. He was able to see the mall from where he stood, the parking lot being filled with several Shamblers which he hoped would move on by the time and his friends got there, though they would be taking the van instead walking. He briefly wondered how Takashi and Saeko we're doing, but he knew both of them would be safe, especially with Saeko having a real Katana now. Seeing that beautiful sword, it made him regret not taking Kendo when he had the chance, then again he was fully trained with the bayonet, much like his cousin was, though she didn't know much about it, since he had chosen to train in secret. Perhaps he should find himself a bayonet? If anything he could use secure a knife to the end of his gun...nah that wouldn't be practical.

A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his head, as he continued to scan the horizon. Large billowing smoke trails could still be seen all throughout the city, but the fires were starting to die down a bit, in some areas at least, last he had heard, a big storm was coming their way, and that certainly would put the fire out.

"Damn, this really complicates things for us." he muttered to himself. All he had seen in every direction was nothing but people being torn apart, or Freaks tearing each other apart for one reason or another. He had seen at least six people get taken down in the span of twenty minutes, one of them being a little kid. That one had been the hardest one to watch. He marked several streets off on his map with bold red crosses, signifying that they weren't going to take those roads. He sighed and leaned back onto the ground, looking straight up at the sky, the binoculars abandoned for now. The skies were clear, at least in the section he was looking at.

There were some puffy white clouds to the west, that mixed in with the smoke trails every so often. He flew the hair out of his eyes, only for it to fall back into place. He noticed his hair was growing longer than before, and it wouldn't be long before his hair matched Kohta's in length, and Takshi's in spikiness. That had only happened once in his life and he had looked like a total tool, he was going to cut it when he had the chance.

"Hey dunce! Breakfast is ready." Saya called out, grabbing his attention. She had been standing right above him, with a blue tray in her hands, which he assumed was loaded with food. He rapidly stood up, taking it from her hands. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks babe, I really appreciate this." he said.

"It wasn't me that made it, it was Shizuka..for being a ditzy nurse, she's a helluva cook." she said. He looked down at the tray, surprised to see Huevos Rancheros, with a side of bacon and a toasted bagel on the side, along with a steaming cup of coffee. He could almost kiss the woman. He rapidly sat down and grabbed the plastic fork, taking a huge piece of it and shoveling it in his mouth.

"Oh my god, this is amazing!" he said, tears almost spilling from his eyes. Saya sighed, looking away from him, her arms raised slightly.

"Leave it to men to focus solely on food. Jeez, what an idiot!" she muttered dryly, a small smile on her lips. She liked seeing him act like a normal teenager for once. She sat down beside him, taking a hold of the fork in his hand, which had a piece of food he had just grabbed, shoving it in her mouth right after.

"You little sneak, didn't you already eat?" he asked.

"Only a little, I thought we could do a sappy couple thing and share this...why do you think there are two mugs of coffee?" she asked, taking a hold of the pink one. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Fine, we can share it, let's just eat before it gets cold." he said, cutting up another piece of it. He gave every other bite to Saya, making little airplane noises every time, which made her laugh a bit, as much as she hated to admit it.

"So, did you plan out our course?" she asked, after they had finished their breakfast. He nodded, passing her the map.

"All of these streets are filled with them. The van can take hits, but a few too many and it'll end up like the Humvee. Plus we don't have that much gas left, so we have to siphon some before we leave. We should be able to make it there perfectly fine if we just take the straight path. However the entire lot is filled with them, so we can't fuck around when we get there." he said.

"What if it's overrun?" She asked curiously.

"I saw chains on the doors, the front doors at least, and it doesn't look like an outpost or anything. I did see someone making their way out of it, a police officer I think...if that's the case then we'll at least have them to talk too...once we take a break, we can work on securing the place, and move on to find our families." he said.

"Are you sure about this? I was looking forward to Mt. Fuji, I haven't been there since I was a little girl. Those beautiful cabins are really nice for raising a family." she said. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"We can't take the risk, not now at least. We'd have to cross Tokyo, we'd run out of ammunition at that rate. I know you want to be safe, and you want to have a good relationship with me, but I'm thinking about all of us, not just us." he said. She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder, the scent of strawberries filling his nose. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her tightly against himself. They sat there silently for a few seconds, just staring at the horizon. Saya shifted her gaze up to Hinata, who looked at her curiously.

Ever so gently, she reached up to his face, her finger hovering right above his scar. He watched her intently, but didn't say anything. The traced her finger over it, cupping his cheek right after. She leaned up, pressing her lips against his own. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip, begging him for entree. He wrapped his arms around her waist, as their duel for dominance began, small moans filled his ears as he continued kissing his girlfriend. They pulled away briefly to breathe, only to go right back at it. Feeling a little bolder, Saya decided to pin him down to the ground, wrapping her legs around his waist, she grinned as she watched the surprised look on his face.

"How does it feel to be overpowered by a woman?" she asked curiously.

"Eh, you aren't really overpowering me. I'm just letting you do what you want. Man, I always dreamed of having big boobs in my face, but I never dreamed of having your boobs in my face." he said, a playful smirk on his lips. She blushed a bit, her lips pursed in a small pout.

"Hmph...must be a dream come true then. What, did that Esthia girl not have big ones?"

"They were alright, C-cups are average for some women. As long as I can feel them on my chest when I get a hug, I'm good. And yours happen to fit the bill." he said, brushing her arms aside with ease. He took a firm hold of her breasts, giving them a light squeeze.

"Oh, you bastard~" she moaned, the blush on her face brightening up with every little squeeze. She bit her bottom lip, trying to hold back her moans as he continued to fondle them.

"Hey guys...um...what the hell are you two doing?"

Both of them looked up, seeing Nick by the door that lead down into the building, shotgun in hand. He had a weird look on his face. Hinata quickly let go of Saya's boobs, the glare in his eyes piercing the young man.

"What the fuck? You are such a cock blocker man... _Christ!_ " he snapped angrily.

"Sorry, Saya told me to come get you guys when we were ready. Jeez, if you wanna fuck each other, let me know ahead of time." he snapped back, slamming the door after himself. Saya sighed, standing up, fixing her shirt and skirt.

"That was my bad, I did tell him that...don't worry, we'll get to have our alone time sooner or later. Come on." she said, holding her hand out to him. He took it, allowing her to pulling him up to his feet. He grabbed the binoculars and the map, folding it and placing it in his vest, pausing to look at the tray.

"Should I grab that?" he asked.

"Forget it, no one is gonna come here and complain about a food tray." she replied. He nodded, taking her hand and heading toward the door.

Once downstairs, he explained what he saw to Kohta, explaining their route to the mall and the plan he had formulated to get rid of the Freaks that were at the mall parking lot. Thankfully, it wasn't going to involve anymore pipe but it did involve that crossbow they hadn't found a use for yet. Hinata had been considering giving it to Melanie, but he doubted she would even be able to use something like that.

Once they were ready, they bid their farewells to the arcade and walked outside, following Hinata toward the S.A.T. van. Shizuka had insisted on driving, but Saya quickly shot her down, telling her that they already had the area mapped out and Hinata was the one that was going to drive.

"Alright, we need to get some extra gas for the van. We have enough to make it to the mall, but we might be able to use this van to grab our parents and bring them back to the mall. We'll need to have a full tank too..." he stopped mid sentence. He looked around, only to see the van was gone. His jaw dropped as Saya ran to the spot where they had parked, seeing little shards of glass on the ground.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me. Looks like someone boosted our ride!" she said angrily.

"What are the fucking odds of that? Shit fuck!" Hinata howled in anger.

"Maybe we should just walk to the mall. It isn't that far from here after all." Shizuka suggested. They all sighed, they had been looking forward to a smooth ride to the mall, and now that their van had gotten stolen, it only made them even more depressed.

Even with all of the dead shambling around, their walk to the mall was pretty uneventful. Kohta and Hinata had been taking a couple shots at any Freaks that got to close. The sounds of distant gunshots filled their ears, and Hinata could only stare at the distant Mercy Hospital, it's lights still flashing all over the place, though they had little effect during the day. He noticed a white speck near the top of it, which was slowly moving away, heading toward what he assumed was the ocean, since he wasn't sure.

"Looks like that rescue chopper is still operational...though I don't see myself going back to that place." Nick said, eyes gaze distant. Savannah had remained silent, not wanting to remember what she had seen on that horrible night.

"L-let's just focus on getting to the mall yeah? No need to pick at an old wound!" Hinata said, trying to be as cheerful as he could.

"Yeah, but I can tell that shit is still affecting you." Saya muttered quietly to herself, though she was sure Rei picked up on it. After awhile, they finally reached the mall.

Taiei Shopping Town, a shopping center spanning three stories tall with more than three hundred outlet stores of various wants and needs. From clothing stores to electronics and everything in between, if you didn't find it there, then you wouldn't find it anywhere. At least that's what the commercials said, way back when Hinata still watched day time television. He pictured the mall, being full of people, cars and even animals, being lively and filled with excitement, teenagers looking to hang out, couples looking for a date, mom's and dad's looking for something to cook for the kids, now it was just as the rest of the city was, dead.

There were several abandoned cars on the lot, some overturned, others had crashed into each other. A large pool of blood could be seen next to one, along with a discarded shoe. One Freak was standing by a car, eating a severed leg, the chunks of flesh hanging from his jaws, the blood dripping off his chin. Hinata quickly took it down, the body dropping hard to the ground, it was a round well spent. He didn't know exactly what part he was at, but he did see several large windows on the second floor, and he could only the edges of desks inside, so he assumed those were offices. He didn't see anything in the area, but the sign on the road did point to a nearby shopping plaza.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Kohta asked. Hinata licked his lips, looking at the doors, which were around two thousand or so meters from where they stood, chains wrapped around and firmly locked.

"Did you and Saya happen to pick up any bolt cutters from your academy wood shop?" he asked quietly.

"No, that was one tool we didn't seem to find anywhere, and we ditched the electric drill we had, not like it would be of any use to us now." Saya replied.

"Well, we're fucked. Time to go home!" Nick said, earning a groan from everyone.

"Except we're not. Kohta, I need the crossbow." he said, getting an odd look from everyone. Kohta shrugged off his pack and pulled out the disassembled crossbow. Within seconds, the weapon was fully assembled and ready to go. He pulled out the quiver of arrows, handing both to Hinata. He handed his rifle over to Shizuka who looked at it oddly.

"Anything happens, cover me. You're a smart woman, surely you can figure out how that works." he said, grabbing the quiver. He pulled the bow string back into place and drew one of the steel arrows, placing it into the slot of the crossbow. He cracked his neck and started walking toward the lot.

"Be careful Hinata." Saya called out, getting a chuckle from the teen.

"I want a big kiss after this one dear, sit tight, I won't be long." he said.

He hopped up to the top of an abandoned car, surveying the entire area. Surely he could have used his rifle to take care of the Freaks, but that would just be a waste of bullets. At least you could recover the arrows and use them again. He gave a low whistle, attracting the attention of a young woman, wearing the same uniform as the rest of the girls from Tokunosu West Academy. He sighed, pulling the trigger, he heard snapped back as the arrow sailed right through her eye, the fletchlings sticking out of her head. He grabbed another arrow, pulling the string back into place.

"Sorry girl, but I'm about to go Daryl Dixon on these motherfuckers." he said, taking down his second kill. In a matter of minutes, all of the Freaks in the lot had been taken down, bright orange arrows sticking out of all of them. He held his hand up, signaling for his friends to come into the lot, as he hopped down from the car hood.

"Wow, big brother Hinata was amazing with that crossbow!" Savannah said happily.

"Of course I was. I gotta thank you for it though sweetie, you Brits sure now how to make weapons." he said, resting the crossbow onto his shoulder. He cleared his throat, looking around the lot.

"I didn't see any human activity. We'll enter through those doors there, but let me make it clear to everyone right now, no guns. If we see or hear people, we have to ditch them...and I know what you are thinking, but no, we can't go in there with them, or else they will want to use them. You can keep your handguns on you, so long as their concealed, but no rifles or shotguns." he said firmly.

"Fair enough, I don't want anyone touching my baby anyway." Kohta said, a grin on his face. Hinata handed him the crossbow, which he started pulling apart, tossing the quiver to Nick, who looked at it oddly.

"The fuck do I need this for?" he asked.

"You're on recovery detail, you need to loose those ten pounds you got from eating all of the candy last night. Chop chop!" he said clapping his hands.

"Fuck you man, this is revenge for what happened in the arcade isn't it?" he asked.

"Eh, it might. Get to it!" the teen replied, chuckling when the teen walked over to the nearest bodies, pulling the arrows from their heads, grimacing at the blood and brain matter left behind. Hinata moved toward the doors, reaching for the chain wrapped around them. It was a heavy duty one, with thick rings made out of iron. It also had a big padlock, no doubt recovered from the hardware store within. He remembered the police officer he saw leaving the place early that morning, realizing she must have been the one to put it on. That meant there were people inside, and he didn't know how hostile they may be.

"Something wrong cousin?" Rei asked, looking at the black haired teen. He shook his head, taking his rifle from Shizuka, who had been looking it over since he handed it to her. Kohta had taught her several things about it, but she was still too nervous to use something a big as a rifle. He took aim at the lock, gesturing to the others to back up. Pulling the trigger, the soft pop was accompanied by the sound of glass shattering, and the chain dropping loudly. He grit his teeth, quickly pulling the chain off the doors, pulling them open.

"Move in, stay close." he muttered, holding the door open for everyone. He waited for Nick to get back before going in himself. Taking point once again, he aimed his gun in every direction, mimicking Kohta's movements as he scanned the area.

"Where are we?" He asked, looking at Melanie, who looked around, already knowing where she was.

"We're in the west plaza, near the make up stores and Cinnabon, oh god, I really want a cinnamon bun right now." She said, mouth watering at the thought.

"Is there a place where we can store these guns?" Kohta asked, looking at the blonde. She looked around for a few seconds, her smile evolving into a grin.

"Follow me, keep quiet though, just in case." she said, aiming her Glock down at the ground as they all followed after her, moving as quietly as they could. They took a left turn, running straight down the large strip of outlet stores, all of them being open, the soft music still playing. It was then that Hinata realized the place still had power, though it seemed it was only partially on the grid, as most of the stores were dark. They all stopped in front of one of the girliest stores in history, Victoria's Secret. Quickly walking inside, the looked around, taking a quick scan of the store before finding a good spot, in a basket filled with brassieres, for women that had a G-cup. Quickly brushing everything aside, they placed their guns at the bottom of the rack, though everyone who had a handgun paused to fill their pockets with magazines and extra bullets. Giving Kohta a nod, they moved out of the store, acting like they had nothing on them.

"Alright guys, I'll be the only one with a visible gun. It'll be more believable if one of us has a gun and by some miracle of god guided his friends to this mall. Keep yours on low profile, and for no reason show them off to anyone, unless it's a life and death matter." Hinata said, drawing his M1911. It went against everything they had done to just abandon their guns, but it had to be done. Hinata had taken Savannah's Beretta and the extra ammunition, having given it to Saya, who placed the fanny pack around her waist, holding the gun in her hands.

"It's more believable if two of us have guns dear. I can just tell them I'm a Takagi, they'll buy it, considering everyone should know who my father is. Just stay behind us guys." she said, looking at their friends.

"Stop right there! Hands where I can see them!"

" _Shit."_ Hinata hissed under his breath, coming to a full stop. It seemed as if they were found before they could find anyone. Hinata turned around, eyes widening a bit at the woman who was standing behind them.

She was dressed in a short sleeved black shirt, with a black Kevlar vest over it, with many different sized pockets, a few magazines sticking out of it, the bold white letters, S.A.T. patched right above her left breast. She was wearing a pair of black pants, with a few silver zippers on it. Over her legs was a pair of sturdy looking leg armor, which was made out of a thick plastic, capable of stopping a bullet if shot at directly. She was also wearing a pair of black steel toed boots, similar to the ones Saeko had taken from Rika's apartment. Attached to her right leg was a black holster, the handle of a gun could be seen, along with a few extra magazines. She was holding an MP5SFK, with a mounted flashlight on it, and what looked like an extended magazine.

The woman looked to be around thirty seven years old, with long flowing black hair, that fell down to her mid back, and was a bit curled at the ends. She had light colored skin, and bright pink eyes, filled with a fire that wouldn't be easily put out. She had a small nose, and full lips, a beauty mark being right next to her nose. She had a bit of blush on her cheeks, and her eyes had been lined with eyeliner. Rei's breath hitched a bit when she saw her, and Hinata almost dropped the gun in his hands when he did. She lowered her gun, almost breaking into tears. Hinata holstered his gun and broke into a dead sprint, the woman catching him in a hug.

"Mom!" he cried, breaking into tears right after.

"Hinata, sweetheart...you're alive...you're alive." she said, holding her son tightly.

"Auntie Aiko!" Rei cried, also hugging the woman tightly. The others smiled brightly, happy that the two had found one of their relatives. Saya however felt a bit unnerved, especially by the people watching them from the second floor walkway. There was one man in particular who she didn't like, right off the bat, but she couldn't do anything about it. Not yet anyway. For now, they would focus on finding out information and waiting for their friends to arrive.


	12. Tough Choices

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 12

Tough Choices

It had only been a few minutes after they had entered the mall, but to Hinata, it felt like hours had passed. Having been reunited with his mother, he spent most of his time explaining what had happened since he had last spoken to her. Aiko had been immensely proud of her son, for being able to get all of his friends there safe and sound. She was also rather impressed with his skill with a gun, though he had told her to keep the hidden weapons a secret from the others.

In that time though, he had been acquainted with all of the other people in the mall. There were a couple kids his age, one of them being from Tokunosu West Academy, though he was a bit shifty, he had been holding a knife in his hand and was muttering things under his breath every so often, the other kid just kept to himself. There was another man, who kept raving about wanting to call his office, complaining about how it had been a day since he last spoke with his boss. There was an elderly couple as well, but they had been keeping to themselves since they met, and the last friendly person was a man not much older than them, being around twenty five or so, who had been really cool with them and had told them to loosen up and enjoy the stuff around them.

Then there was the man that he didn't like at all, as soon as he saw him, he got that look on his face. The man was dressed like a thug, black beanie on his head, long sleeved black shirt and pants combo, with worn looking shoes and that look in his eye that screamed criminal. He had told his friends to keep an eye on him, before sending Kohta, Nozomi and Melanie to the roof to keep an eye out for Takashi and Saeko.

"That's about it really...I was sent here to this mall, with officer Asami and officer Matsushima, though she ended up going back to the Police Station to get some extra help. We're all alone here for now." Aiko said, earning a nod from Hinata.

"What about dad? Was he alright? Did you see mom too?" Rei asked, earning a frown from the woman.

"Sorry sweetheart, I haven't seen your father for four days now. We were holding the fort back at the station until we were dispatched here. I did speak with your mother before those Americans sent out that EMP, so I know she's fine. She and the neighborhood banded together and killed all of the ones they could, so they're relatively safe, for now at least. Besides, you know how your mother is with a spear!" the woman joked, earning a giggle from her niece, though the worried look never left her face.

"Um...Ms. Miyamoto..I.."

"Nozomi dear, how many times have I asked you to just call me Aiko? Please you don't need to be so formal." the woman said, getting a shy nod from the purplette.

"Um...did you speak with my parents at all before you left for the station?" she asked quietly. Aiko shook her head, her lips pursed a bit.

"Sorry sweetie...other than the hello I gave your mother the day the world went to hell, I haven't seen hide or hair of her, though if I know Lila, she's most likely at Shintoko, taking care of her class. Which brings me to my next topic, how were you able to rescue these little girls? Did you just happen across them?" Aiko asked, looking at Savannah and Alice, who were playing fetch with Zero. Nick had been keeping a close eye on them, and teaching them the art of the curve ball.

"Well, we rescued Alice from a horde of _them_ just outside of Rika's apartment. It was our friend Takashi who ended up getting her. Savannah though, me and Saya were the ones that found her, when we were separated from the rest of the group. We found her in a warehouse on our way to Mercy Hospital." Hinata replied, leaning back into his chair. He looked around the Food Court, imagining the fresh food the workers would be cooking, if the world hadn't gone to shit. His mother had remained silent, looking at the two teenagers firmly.

"You two...went through the hospital? Please tell me you didn't..." she said.

"Sorry ma'am...we did. The hospital was a dead zone, we had to walk through the subway tunnels, through the Federal Express warehouses and through thick piles of shit, only so that we could get a ride back to my house. And before you ask, yes we fought hundreds of them, and we saw a lot of grim shit in there, stuff that will haunt me for the rest of my life." Saya replied, having taken a firm hold of Hinata's hand. The woman sighed, bowing her head.

"I guess...if you had no choice then it's fine. I would have done the same had I been in your shoes. Well, the time for chit-chat can wait...I suppose you would all like to take a a break after all of the running around you did, killing all of _them_ right? We have a place set up for everyone else, but if you would like to stick together, there are tons of stores with beds inside. You are welcome to take any of them...just steer clear of the bed store on the second floor, that's where the other group is currently staying at." she said.

"Okay, thanks mom...we'll take a look around. Are there any showers that still work? I noticed there's still partial power in this place, and I could use a shower." Hinata said.

"Hmm...let me think...well, I think Macy's has employee locker rooms, those definitely have showers. I've been so focused on keeping an eye on these people that I've totally ignored taking one. I might just join the rest of the girls later, if you are all planning on showering together." she said.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind, there are so many soaps here I wanna try. I also want to know if there are any injured here so I can take a look at them..if you don't mind of course Aiko-san." Shizuka said, earning a nod from the black haired woman.

"Of course, we can stop at Bath and Body Works on the way, they have their Spring collection out." she said, in a hushed tone, making the woman giggle in excitement.

"Sweetheart, I'm gonna go pick out some clothes to wear, I'm sick of being in this dress. After I find some stuff, I want to shower with you, so don't you dare start without me." Saya said, looking firmly at Hinata, making everyone around them look right at the black haired teen. He chuckled dryly, earning a glare from his mother.

"Son, is there something you'd like to tell me?" she asked.

"Um...I guess, since the world went to shit and all...well...me and Saya...we're engaged." he said.

"What?" both of them cried out, not expecting that curve ball. Nick ended up throwing his ball of course, nailing a manikin on the other side of the mall, the loud bang of the plastic human filling their ears. Hinata pulled the black ring box Yuriko had given him, holding it out to Saya.

"Yeah...we're getting married after we find a place to settle down. You did ask your mother for a ring so..here it is." he said. The pink haired girl pulled him into a tight hug, shoving his face in her bosom.

"Yes! I totally accept, I never thought this day would come!" she said, swiping the ring box from his hand, letting go of the blushing teen. Aiko rolled her eyes, shaking her head at her son's antics.

"Well, you are an adult now...I think...so if you want to spend time with your fiancee, then it's totally fine with me. Just...be careful alright? Let's go Shizuka-chan, the store we're looking for is this way." Aiko said, leading the blonde nurse toward the Bath store filled with different soaps and creams.

"I think I'll go pick out some clothes too, I'm sick of wearing this goddamn school uniform." Rei muttered dryly.

"I'll go with you, now that the world went to shit, I can totally get myself a wardrobe...oh yes, Charlotte Rousse, here I come." Melanie cried loudly, grabbing a firm hold of Rei's hand, the girl complaining about being jerked forward. Everyone else split up to explore the mall, at least to kill some time while they waited for the missing members of their friends.

Hinata sighed as he looked around the grocery store, it had been a day and a half since they had made it to the mall. It had been late into the evening when Takashi and Saeko had arrived, and he had let them in, much to the other groups dismay. As soon as they saw Hinata and Saya's guns, they started demanding they hand them over, but a single firm look from Aiko shut them up. Ever since then, they hadn't interacted much with them, but they knew that wouldn't last long, especially with the food situation. Takashi was also wondering what to do, and they were all currently unarmed, aside from the few handguns some of his friends had decided to keep concealed, in case of emergencies, and the submachine Hinata's mother had in her possession. The woman had since then changed out of her S.A.T. armor, though she had kept the leg guards and the vest on, having changed to a different pair of pants, a pair of blue jeans in fact, and a tee shirt with a large butterfly on it, she had been keeping watch on the roof with Kohta, so she had left Officer Asami Nakaoka in charge, though she was doing a shit job of running the place.

Asami wasn't much older than them, being nineteen years old herself when she had graduated from the Police Academy. She was dressed in a long sleeved light blue uniform, with thick round buttons on the front, and a formal white shirt underneath, with a matching red stripped tie. She was also wearing a long blue skirt, that reached down to her calves, and had been ripped a bit, to allow for more movement. She was wearing a pair of black shoes, with a slight heel to them. Around her waist was a leather belt, with several small pockets on them, along with an empty holster, though he did spot the handle of a baton sticking out of one of the pouches, so she was at least armed. Even though she was a police officer, she didn't exert herself like an officer of the law, and he had been around cops for most of his life, so he knew exactly how they should act, this girl didn't have the confidence to back herself up, which would lead her to being stepped on, and that wasn't a good combination.

Hinata had finally found himself in clothes that didn't belong to a woman, having chosen to wear a long sleeved gray shirt, with a plaid red tee shirt over it, which he left partially unbuttoned. He was also wearing a pair of black slim straight jeans, which were faded in parts for style. He had decided to keep Rika's boots on, having stuffed his pant legs in them so they wouldn't stick over the top of the boots. He wore his belt loosely around his waist, his M1911 firmly tucked into it. He was also wearing a light gray beanie on his head, his black hair being secured by it a bit. He had also grabbed a couple of bracelets from Hot Topic, and placed them around his wrists, the anime characters on them calmed him down a bit, and reminded him of happier times at least. He like the rest of his friends, had been walking around the Grocery store, in search of something to eat.

"Hey Saya, what do you think of this? Is it still good?" Kohta asked, holding a pack of steaks in his hands. The pink haired woman looked over at him, crossing her arms.

"It's only been a day since the power failure, such a shame that the store happened to go with it. Check the date on it, also make sure it doesn't stink." she advised, earning a nod from the black haired gunman.

"Whoa there little lady, who said you'd be taking our food?"

The voice came from one of the survivors that had been in the mall. A man of thirty, who was wearing a black sweater, which was smeared with splotches of dried blood. The sleeves hung a bit past his hands, and had been rolled up a bit. He was wearing a matching pair of pants, which looked old and worn, covered in tiny white speaks, which couldn't only be described as paint drops, at least that's what Hinata thought. He was wearing a pair of black work boots, which were caked and dirtied with blood. The man had a firm look on his tired face, the stubble starting to come in, his eyes burning holes into Saya, the young woman only scoffing.

"We agreed to share the food equally did we not?" she replied, brow raised in anger.

"We agreed to smoke the meats and fish, and you plan on eating that yourself?" the man asked.

"Wait a minute Shimada, they only just got here. They don't know about the rules yet." a new voice said. This was of course Officer Nakaoka, who had been walking around getting to know each other. She hated to admit it, but Shimada had been one of the more annoying people she had to keep an eye on. Her friend Aiko had been keeping watch on the roof, in case any other survivors or rescuers came for them. The man sighed angrily. Asami swallowed hard and started waving her hands around.

"Besides, we have to uh..gather all the food as fast as we can, it will be harder without the skylights." she said. The man nodded and walked off, possibly to another aisle.

"Thanks a lot Officer...if you hadn't come, I surely would have cracked him over the head with my gun." Hinata said firmly.

"No problem, this officer is here to do everything she can to protect the citizenry. Though please, don't use that gun unless you have too." she advised.

"Of course, I'll only use it if I feel threatened, or if anyone of my friends is in a situation where their lives are at risk." he said, getting an eager nod from her.

"You didn't tell us yet but, were you the one that gathered everyone here?" Saya asked, she looked over at Kohta, who was busy checking Asami out, the young officer not having noticed him yet. She shook her head.

"It wasn't this officer. It was her friend, Officer Matsushima who gathered everyone here. Officer Miyamoto came with us as well, and we've been here ever since. We didn't hear back from Headquarters for awhile, so Matsushima went to find help. But that was yesterday morning, Asami is getting worried." she said firmly, a frown on her face. Saya and Kohta shared a look, but remained silent.

"But don't worry, Officer Matsushima is different than me. I'm still in training, but she's gotten several honors and awards, she'll bring help, I just know it." she said with a cheerful smile.

"Oi Police girl, its time to start today's meeting." another man said, he was wearing a white tee shirt, with matching jeans and shoes, he had a short hair style and black rimmed glasses. He seemed to be the kindest out of all the people that were in the mall before the group arrived.

"Right right, I'll be right there." Asami said, before running off. Saya watched her go, not knowing what to do.

"I'll take this stuff to the food court with Savvy, you uh..do what second in commands do." Nick suddenly said, appearing from the other aisle with a basket in hand. Savannah was with him, holding a basket as well, filled with food cans and water bottles. Hinata nodded, allowing him to go back to their little headquarters, which happened to be the East plaza of the mall, next to the escalators leading to the second floor. When Takashi had come back, he had been so impressed with how fluidly Hinata had guided them there, that he made him his unofficial second in command, much to Kohta's dismay, though he was still a gunman in their squad so he wasn't disappointed for long. He had also shared with him and Saeko what had happened during the night, and even though Takashi had been slightly unnerved, he commended him for keeping a friend safe, which was ultimately what they all wanted. Saeko had also commended his bravery, at having faced and defeated three armed men in the dark with no backup, other than Saya. To her, he had proven himself as a warrior, and that was something not many did, at least in her eyes. He felt Saya take a hold of his hand, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"Come on you, you haven't said a word since Takashi and Saeko got back, and we need to have our own meeting." she said. He nodded and simply followed along. They headed toward the Food Court, which was separated from the Grocery store by several large glass doors. Alice waved them off and opened the door for them, they were greeted by Zero's happy barks.

"Hey guys!" she greeted cheerfully.

"Hi Alice, did Nick and Savannah make it back with all the food?" Hinata asked, kneeling down a bit to pet Zero, the small pup's tail had been wagging so hard he ended up whacking Saya's leg a few times, making her groan and take a few steps back. The poor pup had accidentally hit the patch that hid her road rash, though she didn't really voice her pain. The little girl gave him a nod, Takashi walked over to them, allowing the little girl to take off.

"Nozomi is trying to start the stoves to make dinner, but it seems the electric starters are shot, so she had Nick search for matches." the black haired teen said. Kohta closed the doors behind them, and high fived Alice, who was eagerly telling him about the new trick she taught to Zero.

"I assume you finished?" Saya asked. Takashi nodded.

"All exits are blocked and we rigged a few with a sound system made from bells, and we found a better spot for the guns, making sure all of them were well hidden. I told Saeko to keep her sword just in case, I doubt anyone would try to take it from her." he said quietly.

"Hmm, the people here aren't as settled as they were back at my place. It won't be long until they fall." she said, running her fingers through her pink hair, a firm look on her face.

"We don't want the guns being stolen." he replied.

"True, with everyone up there, I'm sure they'd try to take them by force. And if not use them, but we'd run out of ammo, and carrying all of that was a pain in the ass." Saya replied.

"Want to change your clothes?" Kohta said, aiming the question to Alice who stopped hopping around and nodded.

"Yeah, I was sitting in the car all day, and running through the night, I feel all sticky and dirty, and I haven't taken a bath yet." Alice said. Kohta was about to leave when Saya gave him a firm tug to the ear, making him yelp in pain.

"Ow, what the hell? I haven't done anything wrong yet." he cried out.

"Don't let the kid distract you. We're having a serious conversation here." She said sternly, making Hinata chuckle. Kohta gave him a look of pure betrayal. They had been so worried about Takashi and Saeko that all of them had stayed up on the roof top, completely forgetting about their plans to shower and change clothes.

"Anyway, this place isn't going to last, seriously." Takashi continued.

"The foundations of their group have already fallen, it makes all of my plans for fortifying this place a total waste. I can't very well start thinking about the future with untrustworthy people in this place. Asami has no backbone, she's relying entirely on my mother for backup. I get that she's just a Traffic officer, but she should assert herself a little more." Hinata said, crossing his arms.

"This place is going to turn sour, the fresh food is already starting to go bad. Won't be long before it all hits the fan." She said.

"If we move all the toilets to the roof, we can use them as if we were camping, and we can use the tarps up there to collect rain water. But there's a lot of people right? And from experience, I know that if water isn't flowing, the showers won't work, and we'd be dirty and sick." Alice said, crossing her arms with a satisfied look on her face.

"What a little smart ass." Hinata said, ruffling her hair.

"Who let the kid in on this conversation?" Saya asked, not believing for a second that Alice was that smart. She was surprised a seven year old could come up with an idea like that on her own..

"You're voice was really loud, so I heard everything Saya-chan. I do have a point though." she said, with a frown on her face. Saya pinched her cheeks, making her yelp a bit.

"Don't call me Saya-chan, call me big sis." she cried, while Kohta held Zero in his hands, a deadpanned look on his face.

"Anyway, go find stuff we truly need. We don't need unwanted attention." Saya said, finishing off her statement. Kohta and Takashi nodded, and ran off to the escalators, heading off to the second floor.

"I'm gonna go change out of these frilly clothes. I can't wear this crap anymore, maybe we'll take a shower while we're at it." Saya said, taking a firm hold of Alice's hand. Hinata rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's antics.

"I'm gonna take a look around, don't take too long. And remember to pick something out that accents that big ass of yours, I want to see it when you wiggle those hips." he said, causing the girl to blush brightly.

"Really, in front of Alice? God you are such an ass. Come on kid..let's go!" she said, walking off.

Hinata strode past a few stores, glancing at the items within. He stopped by one store, a nice leather coat attracting his attention. He walked inside and grabbed it off the rack, tearing the tag off. He looked it over before nodding and slipping it on. It was a nice fit, he smiled and zipped it up to halfway. Surely this coat, with several pockets would become rather useful. He grabbed his spare magazines and placed them in his breast pocket before heading out to the general store. He didn't know how long exactly it had been, half an hour at most, but he hadn't seen anything of interest, other than his brand new sweet ass coat that is. He hadn't seen any of the others that had been hanging around the mall, most likely still at that meeting that glasses guy had talked to Asami about before. He sort of wanted to know what was being said there, but didn't really know where to go. He spotted Takashi and Kohta coming out of one of the stores, and quicked his pace, catching up to them.

"Hey guys, did you get the grocery list out of the way?" he asked, a small smirk on his lips.

"Hardly, I couldn't find my extra large box of caramel Crunch and Munch, so I have to look somewhere else for it." Kohta said, earning a chuckle from the black haired teen.

"So, what do you think about what's going on here?" Takashi asked, steering the conversation to much more serious matters. Hinata hated discussing this stuff but, sometimes it was necessary.

"If you want an honest opinion, I say we gather together what we can and blow this place. It's not going to last, that girl can't be much older than us and her authoritative power means shit in this world. And isn't she just a meter maid?" he muttered.

"Even then, she's still an officer of the law, she'd make a better leader if she had a little more back bone." Kohta said, fixing his glasses.

"I suppose." Hinata muttered, rubbing his chin, they passed by an office, where a conversation could be heard. He decided to listen in, as well as Takashi and Kohta, who were pressed against the wall.

"Bitch said we'd be getting help soon, but them mother fuckers keep showing up all over the place. Shittier yet, none of the phones and TV's and shit work. We're in the fuckin dark."

"I'm fine with anything. My wife needs a weekly blood transfusion, so we need to reach the hospital." an elderly voice added.

"You know, even if its for a few seconds, I need to contact my office." another man added.

"But..uh...um..Officer Matsushima went to get help. She told us to wait here." Asami said, clearly nervous.

"You don't have the right to hold us here anymore." the first man shouted, clearly pissed off. Kohta let out a sigh.

"Looks like..."

"They all seem to be causing a lot of trouble." Kohta said, finishing Takashi's statement.

"Is the group falling apart?" Takashi asked.

"If that were it, then there wouldn't be a problem." Hinata quipped.

"Except, Groups have a purpose, those people seem to be clinging to the authority of the police." Kohta said.

"But they keep blaming her." Takashi added.

"They just realized they don't need the police anymore. Like I said before, she has little backbone. She can't hold this group together, especially with this many people who all refuse to even work together." Hinata replied firmly, earning a nod from the taller teen.

"Komuro, I know you said we don't have time to rescue each and every person whose in trouble."

"Yeah.."

"So, what's the plan?" Hinata asked, a grin on his face. The three boys shared a similar grin.

"What is talking going to do?" the businessman shouted.

"If you were a respectable Police Officer, you'd do something about the monsters outside. Neither you nor that other bitch have done anything, and she has a freaking gun" a woman shouted in pure fury.

"B-but...I didn't get good grades in school...and I'm just a little girl." Asami said, tears running down her face. Kohta appeared next to her, a small smile on her face.

"Ahem, may I have a moment." he asked.

"Can't you see we're all in the middle of a very important conversation?" the suited man shouted, fixing his glasses.

"Yes, but I found something that belongs to the Police Officer." Kohta said.

"That belongs to me?" Asami asked. He nodded and held a gun out to her.

"This is a Police officers gun is it not?" he asked.

"Y-yes it is. It's a Smith and Wesson M.39 Airweight. The Prefectural Police use these to enforce the law." she said excitedly.

"Uh, trigger finger." Hinata whispered, though it went on ignored.

"Fucking yeah, with that you can kill those motherfuckers." the first man cried out.

"Ah, but if the gun goes off, they will be attracted by the sound. You wouldn't want that would you?" Kohta asked, a sinister smile on his face.

"Besides, there's not that many bullets, only as many as there are people here." Hinata said, letting a few bullets drop from his hand, proving his point.

"But anyway, the Police officer should have the Police officers gun. I hope you use it wisely. Later." Kohta said, he Takashi and Hinata took their leave, smiles on their faces.

"Thank you for your cooperation." she cried out after them.

"Well, don't know if that will help, but at least they have confidence in her now. She'll have more responsibility." he said firmly.

"It's just like in England, some of the Sergeant-Majors used not muskets, but spears." Hinata said.

"Even now they use weak handguns, even on the battlefield." Kohta added, not surprised that Hinata knew something like that. Takashi rubbed his chin.

"Wonder why that is?"

"It's simple, it's to maintain unity. It's to show that they're in a position where they can shoot or stab those that don't follow the rules."

"What exactly are you getting at?" the black haired teen asked, still not getting what he meant. Kohta sighed.

"Alright, imagine that Police officers position now that she has a gun? It's better this way." He said.

"Really? Explain it to me how it's better now that she has a gun?" a firm voice said.

"Shit!" Hinata cried out of reflex, turning around to face his girlfriend, his eyes widening a bit.

It seemed as if Saya had indeed followed his request. She was now wearing a dark brown tee shirt, which was a little too tight for her frame, evident by her large chest sticking out. It had two bright letters on it, an H and a Q, with a bright orange heart being in the center of the Q. Underneath it, she wore a long sleeved black shirt, that reached to just above her naval, as her bellybutton was still visible. She was wearing a pair of army green shorts, which reached to about her mid thigh, and were being held up by thick black suspenders. On her feet she wore a pair of slippers, which were light green in color, the bottom being white, along with the laces which were tied into a bow. She had a white ribbon tied around her ankle. Her still wet hair was being held up by long black ribbons.

Standing next to her was Alice, the little girl had changed her outfit as well, now wearing a sleeveless purple shirt, underneath a plaid tee shirt which was blue in color. She was wearing a long pair of jeans, held up firmly by a white belt, which had little stars on them. On her feet she wore a pair of blue converse sneakers, the laces being firmly tied and stuffed into the shoe to prevent them from coming untied. She was holding Zero in her hands, the puppy struggling to break free from her grasp.

"I wanna fuck you in half." Hinata muttered, causing Takashi and Kohta to almost break into laughter.

"What was that?" Saya snapped, angry at what she had heard. Normally it wouldn't have been an issue, but Alice was with them and talking like that near a child wasn't a good idea. Thankfully, the girl had been playing with Zero and hadn't heard it.

"Nothing!" Hinata said, quickly biting his tongue. He felt Takashi tap his shoulder and he turned to him.

"Here's a tissue." Takashi said, handing him a tissue he had pulled out of his pocket. Hinata silently thanked him and wiped the blood dripping from his nose. Saya ignored him, though the smile on her face told it all.

"Those guys are really in a tight spot, aren't they? But anyway, what makes you think she can use a gun?"

"She's a police officer, she had to have had training, using that gun shouldn't be a problem. That whole group thought she was..."

"What if they think she won't shoot?" She asked firmly.

"That's just one possibility babe." Hinata said, now clean of all blood. She huffed, not liking to be wrong.

"Well, it's not like we can save everyone right?" She asked.

"Um..Saya-chan?" Alice called out.

"It's big sis, got it?" she cried out, pinching the girl's cheeks, making her cry in pain, fat alligator tears running down the sides of her face.

"Ow, where's Miss Shizuka?" she asked.

"Horse Shit."Hinata swore, rather loudly.

In the nearby bed store, a beautiful blonde woman was laying on a bed. She looked extremely tired. Her shirt was above her breasts, exposing her black lacy bra. Her long blonde hair cascaded behind her back. Her pants were also unbuttoned, revealing a bit of her lacy panties. The man from before, Shimada was standing before her.

"Um...that's not."

"Come on, just once?" he asked. The woman remained rather adamant.

"Oh come on, you're the one that wanted to come here." the man shouted.

"Well, I just wanted to find a bed, I'm really tired." the woman replied.

"I don't give a shit." he said, placing a hand on his machete. The woman gulped a bit and tried to back away, only to hit the backboard of the bed.

"Let me do it okay? With all the monsters outside, I won't get to see women with such hot bodies. If I haven't made my point clear enough, then maybe this will." he said, drawing the Machete. The blade glistened in the sunlight coming from the window. He approached her, spreading her legs with the blade.

"That's enough, Shimada put that weapon down." Asami cried out, aiming her gun at the man. The man chuckled and climbed on top of Shizuka, a smirk on his face.

"What? You want some too Police girl?" he asked, glancing back. "Sorry, but you're not my type." he said. His eyes widened when he saw the gun in her hands.

"I'm warning you, drop the weapon!" She said firmly.

Asami was at a stand off, aiming her gun at Shimada who was attempting to rape Shizuka. The man got up, not dropping his weapon and backing away from the blonde nurse, who was hugging herself rather tightly. Asami's gaze didn't falter and she held her gun tightly in her hand, finger poised on the trigger, ready to shoot if she had too.

"H-hey now.."

"Let her go, and drop your weapon...or else." she said firmly. The man smirked.

"You'll shoot? Come on, you're shaking, the aim on your gun isn't firm." he said. Asami faltered a bit, becoming rather nervous. Shimada clicked his tongue, a smile on his face.

"If you're going to shoot me..shoot me." he said. The Police woman had no idea what to do. Takashi and Kohta burst through the doors, followed by Hinata. His eyes widened when he saw Shizuka on the bed, the compromising position she was in, the machete in that man's hand, the fact that her clothes had been undone. He saw red, and immediately reached down for his gun, holding his hand firmly on the handle of it. Images of what had happened to him when he was little coursed through his mind, and that only seemed to fuel his anger, especially after almost dying the night before to another man just like him. In that time, Kohta had run off to the hardware section of the store. He found several kinds of blind cords, as well as some pliers. He used them to cut the cords, which he then wrapped around his hands, a smile on his face.

"Come on, what's the matter? Shoot me? Or is the little Police Chikie to scared to pull the trigger?" Shimada shouted. The others from Asami's group had already entered the store, all stunned at what they were seeing. Nick who got curious entered the store and was shocked to see what was happening, unable to believe the man had stooped down to that level. He reached behind his gun to grab his .38 special, only to realize he had left it with the other guns. He hated himself for having made that choice, he should have instead followed Hinata's advice and kept his on his person. Taking a look at the young man, he saw the look of fury in his eyes, his face was red with barely contained anger.

"I can shoot, I have to shoot so I can protect the citizenry." she screamed, holding the gun tightly. Shimada didn't notice Kohta sneaking up behind him, with a single movement, he slipped the cord over his head and to his neck and with a single pull, he started being choked. Shizuka screamed and covered her eyes. The man started swinging his machete behind him, failing to hit Kohta. His other hand was trying to pull at the cords, only for them to get tighter.

"You done yet? It's futile, its already digging into your skin so its not coming out." Kohta said, voiced laced with venom.

"Are you going to listen to the Police Officer's orders? Or am I going to have to kill you?" he asked. The man let out a gurgled response, before dropping his machete. Takashi picked it up and stepped away from the man. Kohta let him go, allowing him to take a ragged breath.

"Eh, you can stop now."

The man lay on the ground, coughing and wheezing, spit flying everywhere on the floor. Hinata kicked the man hard in the ribs, making him groan in pain. He pulled the slide of his gun back, taking aim right at his head.

"You sick motherfucker...how dare you? How FUCKING dare you!?" He shouted.

"Hinata stop! You don't have to do anything!" Takashi snapped angrily.

"I don't have to do what? Are you fucking serious man? This piece of horse shit was about to rape Shizuka, he was about too...he was about too...no...I can't let him live after that...don't you understand that? That's the second time in a fucking week, _I_ am not taking chances!" he exclaimed.

"No...wait.."

A loud bang echoed through the store, followed by complete silence. Shimada now lay dead on the ground, a bullet hole right between the eyes, blood and brain matter now stained the carpet where he had been laying. The only sound they hard after that was a single bullet casing hitting the backboard of the bed, landing a few centimeters away from Shizuka's leg, the woman was stunned at what she had seen. None of them knowing what to say. Asami shifted her aim to Hinata, who was still aiming his gun at Shimada, his arm trembling with rage.

"Y-you k-killed him." she said.

"I did what I had to do to protect the ones I love. If he hadn't stopped, you wouldn't have done shit! Don't you see, you are a police officer, with a _gun_ and you don't to jack shit around here. You walk around being afraid, instead of exerting your authority. Next time, fucking act, instead of observing, you'll be saving more lives that way."

"What's going on here...Hinata...what have you done?"

Aiko made her way into the store, just in time to see her son putting his gun back in his holster. He looked right at his mother, not a single ounce of remorse in his eyes. He looked down at the dead man, his teeth grit in anger.

"That man was going to rape Shizuka. He was going to hurt my friend, so I killed him, for our safety, and don't start giving me shit for it. I know for a fact you would have killed him too. You of all people should know how I feel about rapists!" he snapped back. The woman looked around the room, before looking at Asami.

"Is this true Asami?" she asked.

"Y-yes. S-shimada...was going to s-sexually abuse Miss Marikawa...I came to s-stop it, but I w-wasn't brave enough!" she said, lowering her gun, tears falling from her face. Aiko glanced back at Takashi and Kohta who had hardened looks on their faces. Saya had been holding Alice close to her, doing her best to block the little girl's eyes, though she had seen everything anyway. She knew Hinata wouldn't have killed someone unless they were bad, and by what they were saying, he had done a bad thing.

"Hinata...while I don't approve of the way you handled the situation...you did what you had to do, to protect your friend. This world has become a cruel place, never hesitate to pull that trigger, the same goes to you Asami..this wouldn't have happened if you had kept a better eye on him. It seems we've all learned a lesson here, a lesson I hope you take to heart." she said firmly. Without hesitation, Aiko walked over to the dead man and lifted him off the ground, slinging his body over her shoulder. She walked out of the store, looking for a place to dispose of his body.

"Are you okay Shizuka?" he asked, looking at the blonde woman. She gave him a nod.

"Y-yes I'm fine...a little scared but fine...thank you Hinata-chan, you shouldn't have killed him though..we would have resolved this matter easily if we talked." She said.

"I doubt it...people like that...you can't reason with them...they just want one thing, and won't stop until they get it." he said firmly.

"Hinata-chan...why did you kill that man?" Alice asked curiously, looking at the blood stain left behind on the carpet.

"Don't you dare Hinata, you shouldn't have done that in front of a little kid." Saya snapped.

"She would have seen it at some point. Better now than never...listen Alice...there is a reason why I did what I did just now...but you aren't old enough to know this yet. Just know, that if there is ever anyone who touches you in places you don't want to be touched in, let us know, so I can take care of it...be sure to always tell an adult alright?" he asked.

"Okay, I'm gonna find Savannah so we can play a board game!" she cried cheerfully, as if she hadn't just witnessed a man being murdered in front of her. She and Zero ran off, heading toward the Toy store, where she had last seen her red haired friend. Hinata took a deep breath, the scent of blood hitting his nostrils, he felt his adrenaline rush ware off, and felt immensely tired. He brushed past his friends, not saying a single word to them. Saya of course decided to follow him.

"Hinata...please can we at least talk?" she asked, after a few minutes of silence. He glanced at her, as they passed by a candy store, briefly stopping to look inside. He remained silent, glancing at the ground.

"Do you think I fucked up?" he asked curiously.

"No...you didn't fuck up, I'm sure Takashi would have done the same, or would have at least beaten the fuck out of him. I don't agree with you doing that kind of shit around Alice though...so please refrain from doing that around her." she said.

"I killed four people in two days...their faces are engraved in my mind...I keep seeing them every time I blink, and I'm starting to wonder, if I'm going to have to keep doing it." he said softly. He felt a hard slap across his face, a sharp stinging on his cheek. He looked up, seeing his pissed off girlfriend, she grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him a bit.

"Get a grip! We have better things to worry about than some two timing thugs looking for a sexual thrill. You killed four guys, big fucking whoop, if this shit hadn't happened, I'm willing to bet they would do the same shit and not regret it, and people like Asami wouldn't do shit about it. So get over it!" she cried angrily. She brushed past him, stomping away only for Hinata to wrap his arms tightly around her body. He chuckled, giving her a kiss on the neck, making her groan a bit, eyes fluttering closed.

"Thank you sweetheart, for opening my eyes. So long as I have you...I don't think I'll start suffering from PTSD. I'll be just fine, I think." he replied. She turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Of course, I'm here for you just as much as you are for me. So please, if anything happens and I'm not there, don't hesitate to tell me...I'll always listen." she said, giving him a kiss.

"Hey, while we're here, wanna pig out on all this chocolate?" he asked, wiggling his brows.

"Are you serious? Eating that much chocolate will give me the shits for weeks...I don't want to suffer from type two diabetes in the zombie apocalypse!" she snapped. He pouted.

"Okay fine...how about we go to Best Buy and find ourselves a working television and we watch sappy movies until dinner?" he asked.

"Ugh...eating chocolate until I puke is more appealing...but I haven't seen Titanic in forever, so let's go. If you behave yourself, I might give you a little something extra for keeping me safe." she said, giving him a wink. She walked off, wiggling her hips a bit as she walked, making him wolf whistle.

"Damn, you are suck a fucking cock tease you know that?!" he said firmly, making her laugh heartily. It felt good to act normal after having a stressful situation.

"Of course I am, it's my job after all." she said, giving him a wink.

"I still wanna fuck you in half though."


	13. Dead Clinic

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 13

Dead Clinic

It was a bit tense around the group, once everyone had gotten word of what Hinata had done. No amount of explanation was able to stop Rei from giving him a verbal lashing, and he just stood there and took it, without a single hint of remorse in his face. But when questioning whether or not his sanity was still in tact, that's when Saya had gotten involved and that wasn't pretty. It had been around a day since then, and everyone sat around the Food Court, in various degrees of activity, with some sitting quietly by the large fountain, while others were looking around for something to do. They had little to no contact with the other group, for fear of them doing something against them for what Hinata had done, so Aiko had taken it upon herself to stand guard outside of the doors to the Food Court, just as an added measure. Kohta has taken over watch at that point, planning their course for the next few days.

Even though there was a sense of distrust among his friends, Hinata still felt like he did the right thing. If he hadn't taken care of Shimada, he would have done unspeakable things to Shizuka, hell he could have done that to Saya, even Savannah and Alice, and that was a risk he wasn't willing to take. He sat quietly by himself, his knife in hand, his M1911 in the other. He had just finished etching the name Sally onto the slide of the gun, adding a single tally mark to it. He thought that by keeping track of those he had killed, the memories would fade out of his mind and into the weapons themselves, that way they couldn't haunt his conscience. While Takashi and Saeko had decided that he had done the right thing, the others were still having a hard time being convinced, and he knew it would take awhile to regain their trust.

He set this knife aside, and grabbed all of the parts from this gun, swiftly assembling it, before putting the barrel back in place. Kohta had shown him once how to do this, and he had quickly gotten the hang of it. He wasn't able to do it blind folded, but he figured with time, he'd be able to it. He placed the magazine back in the receiver, pulling the slide back before flicking the safety on. He wiped the sweat on his forehead, fanning himself with his hand. The entire Food Court had no power, though parts of the mall had been on the grid, it seem as if parts weren't functioning properly. He had been thinking of ways to get power back throughout the entire facility, but he knew that would be easier said than done. With those other people inside, he didn't think fortifying the place was a good idea. Still, he wouldn't be doing it for them, he'd be doing it for his family, the rag tag group of survivors that had not only saved his ass, but kept him sane too.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He looked up, glancing at his girlfriend who held two brimming glasses of cola in her hands. He took one from her hand, taking a sip out of it. Vanilla Dr. Pepper, one of his favorite soft drinks, which was of course better cold but he wasn't one to complain. He set the glass down, clearing his throat.

"I was thinking of getting the power running. I was taking a look at the circuit breakers early, and all of them seem to be in fully functioning order. Since this place is still on the grid, it's only getting half power from the power plant, due to the damage the EMP did. If we switch to the reserve power, everything should work, including the refrigeration system for the grocery store. It won't help the food that already started spoiling, but it could keep the fruits and vegetables fresher longer. We also wouldn't have to shove all of the dairy products in the meat storage units while they are still cold. It won't be long until all of that ice melts." he said.

"I was thinking the same thing. The back up generators are on the ground floor, in an underground parking lot at the very back of the mall. We can get access easily from the Main office on the West side of the mall. Kohta also spotted a Car parts store in a nearby shopping plaza, around six blocks away. I was thinking we could grab all of the batteries and the power converters from the hardware store and set them up as a backup in case the generators run out of gas. That way we'll keep the batteries charged and ready to go just in case." she said firmly.

"Can we power this entire place with just car batteries? The set up would be phenomenal." he said.

"Please, I'm a genius...between you and me, we can have this place running in three days, maybe two if you get off your ass." she said, giving him a wink. He chuckled, taking a big gulp of his cola.

"Excuse me, surely you jest my lady...last I recall you were the one who didn't get off her ass when we were watching that movie." he said, giving her a smirk.

"I...wanted to listen to the song!" she exclaimed.

" _Riiiight_. Anyway, do you wanna take a look at those generators then? I really hate having to help that other group, but I guess we have no choice if we want to survive." he said, standing up from his seat.

"Sure, should we arm ourselves?" she asked, a little quieter. He shook his head.

"It's best if we don't. If those people realize we're well armed then we'll be in big trouble. I got an idea though..." he said. He finished his soda, tossing the plastic cup into the trash. He walked over to the glass doors, where his mother was keeping watch. She was sitting in a beach chair she had brought down from the patio section of JCPenney, along with a foot rest. She had been leaning back into it, a pair of aviator glasses on her face, with her MP5SFK in her hands, trained forward. He bit back a laugh when she looked up at him.

"Something the matter son?" she asked curiously.

"No...you just look so unlike yourself. I thought you were an officer of the law?" he asked.

"I was only a dispatch officer sweetie, we barely get enough action, though the action I got in the last week was more than enough for me. Still, I wish things weren't this way...anyway, did you need something?" she asked.

"I was wondering if I could borrow your machine gun? I was gonna take a look at the generators, to see if we could get power back into this facility, but I don't feel like grabbing my rifle, and I don't want to attract unwanted attention, and I also don't wanna go down there without something to defend myself and Saya." he said firmly. She looked at him for a few seconds, pursing her lips in thought, before standing up. She pulled the strap of her machine gun over her shoulder, handing it to her son.

"I'll let you borrow it, but I can't be left unarmed, so pass me that handgun." she said. He nodded, handing her his M1911 and all of the spare magazines he had on him. She did the same, giving him the three fifty round magazines, along with four thirty round magazines.

"Mom, I thought the fifty round magazines were illegal in Japan, why do you have some?" he asked. She giggled, checking the handgun over.

"I girl doesn't kiss and tell does she? Now run along, the faster you get air conditioning back in this place, the faster I can fully relax." she said, brushing him away. He rolled his eyes, shoving the spare magazines in his pockets, slinging the machine gun over his shoulder. He gave a nod to Saya, and the two started off toward the west half of the mall.

"Hey, where do you two think you are going?"

Hinata stopped mid stride, looking back to see his cousin, standing behind them with her arms crossed. She hadn't changed her outfit much, other than grabbing a brand new long sleeved button down shirt, and a plaid green skirt to go with it. She was still wearing the knee pads she had gotten from Rika's house, along with a pair of elbow pads she had grabbed in the Bike Shop. In her hands was what looked like a hokey stick, though the blade of it had been sawed off. He saw what looked like a kitchen knife, on the end of it, tied to it with zip ties and reinforced with duct tape, making a makeshift spear. She had a firm look in her eyes, one that Hinata didn't particularly like at the moment.

"We're gonna take a look at the generators, if you are so inclined to know." Saya replied, her voice laced with anger. The two hadn't been getting along since the day before, for obvious reasons.

"Fine then, I'll go with you. I need to keep an eye on Hinata anyway." she said.

"Whatever for? I can defend myself just fine cousin. I don't need you to come with me." Hinata said firmly.

"You and I both know that isn't the reason why I am tagging along." she said, brushing past the two. Saya grit her teeth, about to say something when he simply took her hand, shaking his head. The three of them started heading toward the underground parking lot. It was silent of course, thanks to how awkward Rei was making it. It didn't take them long to reach the double doors that would lead down to the ground floor. Saya threw them open, shining her flashlight down into the stairwell.

"My, this will be fun. Keep an eye out would you?" she said, looking solely at Rei. Hinata flicked the light on the MP5 on, and started walking down the steps, shining it in all directions.

The area was surprisingly filled with light, as a few bulbs flickered on and off. Hinata kept his eyes trained in every direction. Thankfully, no Freaks had made their way down there, so it made their trip easier at least. They reached an area at the very back of the parking lot, surrounded by a chain link fence, topped with barbed wire. A quick shot from Saya's Luger brought the chain off.

"Stay out here Rei, keep an eye out while we check this." Hinata said quietly, earning a nod from the young spear user. He slung his machine gun, and walked over to one of the two large generators, seeing several blinking lights. He walked over to it, checking it out for potential damages. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary on the one he was looking at. He saw a few switches on the wall, and walked over to them, flicking them on. The generator whirled to life, and instantly, the lights in the lot got a little brighter. He walked over to it, and started flicking on switches, and turning off ones he didn't think they would need. He left all of the main areas on, but shut off all of the electricity to all but few necessary outlet stores. Sadly, the grocery store wasn't on the list of switches that he was messing with.

"Any luck?" He called out over the loudness of the generator.

"Looks like this one is fried. Sometimes they use one of the generators so they can save money on their bills, guess this one was on at the time and got fried. The northern part of the mall is gonna stay in the dark unless we can fix it, which I don't see happening for awhile." Saya said, taking a few steps back from the large machine.

"Do you think we can find portable generators and hook them up with power cords?" Rei asked curiously.

"If we can find some, we would be able too, we'd have to hook them up together and increase their wattage, and then find long enough cords to run them through the mall, it wouldn't be worth it, just to power some lights or something. We can't have them inside either because the carbon monoxide would kill us. For now, let's just take this as a small victory, we'll need to find some big gas tanks to siphon the gas from the nearby cars so we can fill this up when it gets low. By the looks of it, this thing has enough gasoline for the next two weeks." Hinata said.

"Alright, so five big metal cans filled to the brim would hold us until the end of the month, maybe even a little longer. We might just have to turn off some of the power to the main areas. The lights should all be on a timer anyway, so they will turn off at night, whenever closing time is." Saya replied.

"Man, if only there was a gas station near us...we'd be set for while." Rei said. Hinata's eyes widened a bit in realization.

"The truck!" he exclaimed.

"Huh?" both girls said, brows knitted in confusion.

"Don't you remember when we were trying to reach the arcade? I climbed onto a gasoline tanker, one that I bet is filled with gas. If we bring it here, we'd have enough for two years, maybe even longer." Hinata said, excitement filling his voice.

"Takashi said that the under ground tanks at gas stations have enough fuel in them to fuel a thousand cars before needing to refuel, and there are three tanks under most gas stations. That truck has what we need to siphon the gas from those tanks, so we can go to other gas station and fill it up." Rei said.

"Proper job then, girls. We'll have to form a little squadron and head out to get that truck here. Hopefully it works, if not we'll have to think of something else to do." he said.

Feeling immensely happy with themselves, Hinata and the girls decided to head back into the mall to share the happy news with everyone. Sadly, as soon as they got there they saw Alice running around, gathering things from the grocery store. As soon as she saw them, she stopped in her tracks.

"Big brother Hinata, that nice grandma is dying...help me with this stuff." she cried out desperately. He shared a look with the girl, and started grabbing all of the stuff she had dropped.

"Alice, tell us what's happening." Rei asked.

"I don't know. Miss Shizuka told me to get this stuff for her, she's really sick!" she exclaimed.

They quickly gathered up in the Bed store, all of them ignoring the large red blood splotch in the carpet, which hadn't been cleaned. Everyone was looking at the old woman who was resting in the bed. She didn't look so good, being covered in sweat and panting a bit from tiredness. Her husband looked around in desperation.

"Please...she needs a transfusion, due to her bone marrow disease, if she doesn't get it, she won't make it!." her husband cried out frantically.

"Hmm, that would need regular blood..no that's not it." Melanie muttered, looking the woman over for any symptoms. A few of the others were curious to see the blonde taking interest in helping someone she didn't even know. It was a welcome sight among them.

"It could be R.A." Shizuka said, snapping her fingers.

"I don't know what that is." the old man said.

"A common disruption of normal blood production, its also known as rheumatoid arthritis." Shizuka muttered.

"That's it." the man said.

"I'm so sorry, I think I'll feel better with a little rest." the old lady said with a tired smile. They all moved a few meters away, allowing the woman to rest. Thankfully, there was a bit of airflow due to the air conditioning being on, so she wasn't going to be too hot or have trouble breathing, at least Hinata hoped that was the case.

Shizuka pulled the old man aside, a serious look on her face. The older man gulped a bit, not used to seeing such a serious look on someone.

"Now, what type of transfusion is it? Is it regular blood, plasma or platelets? Also what's her blood type?" she asked.

"I don't know about all that, but her blood type is O." he said.

"Hmm, do you remember the color of the bag?" she asked, adopting a pensive look on her face.

"Like if it was red or yellow?" Takashi asked, placing a finger on his chin.

"It was definitely yellow." the old man cried out, after a minute of thinking.

"If the bag is yellow, then its a P.C transfusion. It's already been two days without power and the clinic is near by." She muttered.

"If its all the same to you, we can use my blood." Takashi whispered, making the blonde woman laugh.

"Oh you, doing a transfusion like that is dangerous, besides her blood type is O which means type doesn't matter." She said.

"But what about the blood transfusion? Wouldn't it need to be the same type as hers?" Takashi asked.

"That goes for red blood cells Komuro." Hinata replied, earning a curious look from everyone. He shrugged.

"You can learn a lot of stuff by surfing the web at three in the morning."

"Anyway, we're not talking about the blood, we're talking about Plasma." Kohta continued.

"Plasma works the other way around, any kind of blood plasma would work, provided that it hasn't gone bad yet." he said.

"How do you know that?" Saya asked, looking at her boyfriend rather impressed. Hinata smirked and he was sure that if he had glasses, he'd be pushing them up his nose.

"I know my way around a blood bank my dear. Went to too many blood drives when I was a little kid."

"Alright, so what are we gonna do about this?" Saya asked, looking at the blonde nurse.

"They got their transfusions at the clinic nearby, all we have to do is go get some." Shizuka said, a warm smile on her face.

"Yeah, but why us?" she asked, a bit firmer. Her arms were wrapped around Alice, who was struggling to stay on her feet. The blonde's eyes widened and they all remained silent.

"We...have to help her..I mean I can't just sit here and do nothing." Takashi said.

"And what about the next time?" she said.

"She needs these regularly, if she doesn't have blood then..you know what will happen." she continued. Takashi's hand tightened in anger.

"So, the rules have changed?" Saeko asked.

"It's sad but...it is how it is." Rei muttered.

"What is? You're gonna help that grandma right Onii-chan?" Alice asked, looking at Takashi.

"It's to much." he muttered.

"If its to much, then why did you save me?" she cried, tears in her eyes. She started crying, burying her face in Saya's shirt, small hiccups slipping from her mouth. Hinata sighed, leaning against the wall beside the bed. He looked at the red splotch of blood near the center of the room, the big bed having been moved toward the back wall instead. He chuckled dryly, licking his lips.

"How ironic, we went through a hospital not that long ago, and we didn't think to grab fucking blood bags. Then again that shit would have gone bad by now anyway. Fuck it, I've spilled enough blood, it's time I redeem myself for killing Shimada. I'll go to that clinic and get that blood." he said firmly.

"Hinata, I am not letting you risk your ass for that type of gamble. Christ, she's gonna die next week if we do something like that. And what if we get there and there isn't any blood? Then what? We'll be wasting munitions, time and most likely people if we risk ourselves that way." Saya said firmly, glaring at her boyfriend.

"I know sweetie, I know it's hard. But I look at that bed, and I see my own grandmother there, I see her in that same position, suffering and almost dying, and I see myself as being the one to save her. It doesn't matter if she'll live a week, or even longer. Who knows where we will all be in a week? Besides, if we get power back into this place, and we bring the transfusion kit, Shizuka can take our blood and make her the necessary supplement. Like Kohta said before, plasma doesn't work the same as blood, and if we have the means, we can save a life. I'm sick of taking them, so this is my redemption. You can either come with me, or stay here. Your choice." he said simply.

"But you can't...you just can't!" she snapped angrily. She was seething, more angry than she had been in awhile, though he could see sadness in her fiery orange eyes. He took a deep breath, looking at the ceiling.

"It's not a question of can or can't. Somethings in life, you just do!" he said simply, not expecting her to reply back.

"You are a good kid...you've made some mistakes in the past, but God will surely thank you for your troubles young man." the old man said firmly. Hinata looked at him, a blank look on his face.

"If you say so, I long since stopped believing in God, when the dead walk the earth, and the children bleed, and the skies weep, there is no need for a god that isn't benevolent with his creations. I live through my own means, through my effort alone, though my will, not God's. Where is this clinic?" he asked, pulling out the map he had in his back pocket. The man took it with shaky hands, looking at it for a few minutes, finally locating the clinic.

"It's right here. It's a small building, in this little residential area." he said, showing the teenager the map. He cringed a bit, seeing just how far it was from the mall.

"That's a good...ten or so blocks from here...between here and there, we'd have to cross two plazas, filled with who knows how many of _them_. I'll get it done." he said, pulling out his pen and circling the store.

"Thank you...I don't know how I will ever repay you." the man said.

"You don't need to repay me. Just use this time to reflect on yourself, spend every minute with your wife, and if the time comes, be there for her, and be strong. That's the only thing I could ever ask for." he said firmly.

"Alright then, we're moving out. What's the plan?" Takashi asked.

"The plan is simple, we'll move in a squad of four, the less people the better. Once we reach our destination we will work quietly, and we will work quickly. Two people to watch the entrance, and two people to get the stuff, no more than ten minutes at a time. Once we plan our set course we'll figure out potential rendezvous locations in case of separation, though if I was able to lead everyone to Mercy Hospital, I'll be able to lead them to a small clinic." Hinata said.

"Excuse me, you seem to forget it was me who planned the course to Mercy." Saya said.

"Sweetheart, we both planned the course to Mercy, yet who was it who ended up leading us through shit?" he asked, earning a grumble from her.

"Okay, so we got two people, naturally I'll be going with you. Who'll be our fourth?" Kohta asked firmly.

"I will of course, the only one who can cover Hinata's ass is me." Saya replied firmly.

"W-wait..Asami will go."

He stopped, looking back at the police officer who had a small smile on her face.

"Just tell her what she needs to do." she said.

"But Asami, it's too risky."

"Ignoring the risks for the citizenry is my duty." She said.

"I'll go too." the man with glasses said, a firm look on his face. Hinata looked at the two, knowing he wouldn't be able to talk them out of it. He nodded, turning toward the doors.

"Alright then, you two follow me." he said firmly.

The six moved swiftly through the mall, trying not to attract too much attention from those who didn't know what was going on. Takashi and Hinata lead them down to the first floor, to where Victoria's Secret was located. Walking past the front of the store, they moved toward the back of the store, to where a large basket was, filled to the brim with lacy bras and panties. Takashi dug around for a few seconds, before pulling out the Ithaca M37, along with the satchel of shotgun shells that went with it. He handed it back to Saya, who seemed to be very content to have her weapon back. Hinata grabbed Charlotte, handing the Springfield Super Mach to Kohta, who quickly unsheathed the bayonet.

"I'll be damned, you guys were packing heat. Big heat in fact." the glasses wearing man said.

"Yeah well, when you are fighting against those Freaks, you gotta go big, or turn into one of them!" Hinata said, checking his rifle over. He grabbed his respective satchel and slung it over his shoulder, making sure all of his magazines were still loaded and ready to go. He grabbed Savannah's fanny pack and slipped it around his waist. He handed his mother's rifle over to the glasses wearing man, who looked at it oddly.

"It's a rental, so be careful with it. If you've used a gun before, it works just like every other one. Thankfully this one isn't select fire, so you'll be fine." Hinata said.

"I've never fired a submachine gun before man." he said.

"It's simple. Press the button on the side to drop the empty magazine, slip in the fresh on until it clicks, and pull the slide back to chamber the round. You're ready to go!" Hinata said cheerfully, handing him the unused magazines his mother had given him.

"No man...I think I'll just use something sharp, I don't trust myself with it." he said, handing Hinata back the submachine gun. The teen sighed, pulling out the Benelli Nova from the bottom of the rack, along with another satchel filled with shotgun shells.

"Okay, this one is a little easier. Load the shells from the bottom, cock it back, aim for the chest, pull the trigger. It doesn't matter who you are, you'll kill whatever is in front of you." he said. The man nodded, taking a hold of the sleek black shotgun, and the shells.

"Now, if we want to address ourselves better, we'll need to know each others names, I think that will make us work better as unit, as such, I am Kohta." the young gunman said.

"Takashi Komuro, just call me Takashi."

"Saya Takagi, that's Takagi to you."

"Hinata Miyamoto, friends call me Hinata."

"Um...my name is Asami Nakaoka, Traffic Officer of the Tokunosu Prefectural Police Department!" the woman cried cheerfully.

"My name is Tamaru Hiro, pleasure to meet you all."

"Alright then, let's plan out our course!" Takashi cried out firmly.

 _Xxx_

It hadn't been that long since leaving the mall. They had chosen to leave at twelve pm on the dot, to make things easier. Hinata had his phone on him to keep track of the time as he had done before. He was in the front of the group, with Takashi a few paces away from him. Standing behind him was Saya, with her shotgun in hand, her Luger strapped to her side in it's special holster, the satchel of shotgun shells slung across her shoulder. Asami was beside her, holding her baton in her hand, her .38 special holstered in a belt around her waist. Bringing up the rear were Kohta and Tamaru, the latter of them still learning how to use the shotgun in his hands.

It had been apparent from the amount of cars in the area that they wouldn't be crossing to the next plaza that easily. Even looking from the roof they weren't able to find a place to walk through. It had been so congested that they found it easier walking along the guard rails than actually cutting through the cars. They hadn't seen any Freaks yet, which was a blessing and a curse all the same. Pausing briefly at a street corner, they looked at the map for a few seconds before going straight.

"Alright, the street that will take us straight to the clinic is off exit 34B, so if we keep going straight, we'll be able to get to the off ramp." Takashi said, earning a nod from Hinata. He had gotten Sally back from his mom, who had a disappointed look on her face when she saw the tally mark written beside her name, he didn't bother giving her an explanation, instead telling her of their plan to get medicine for the old lady. While she had been a little worried, she knew he could handle himself, so she didn't stop him from leaving.

"Do you really think this is worth it man? I know I wanted to do this to redeem myself and all, but I can't see myself as an errand boy, unless it's for our own group." Hinata said firmly.

"I think it'll be worth it. If it gives the old woman a chance to live, even a slim one, then it's worth it. After this though, we can't keep taking risks, no matter how fucked up the situation. We need to worry about us." the spiky haired teen replied.

"So uh...where did you kids find the guns? Aren't builds like this like..super illegal?" Tamaru asked, looking at the rifles in Kohta and Hinata's hands, and the shotgun in Saya's.

"We're borrowing them from a friend, a woman who's part of the S.A.T. she got these guns in parts from America and assembled them here. The shotgun was something that Hinata found in a gas station across the river." Kohta said, gesturing the the Benelli in the man's hands.

"What about the Luger? Family heirloom?" he asked curiously.

"Something like that...I still haven't gotten the hang of it, but I can use the Ithaca well enough to defend myself. Now keep quiet, we don't need to attract attention." Saya hissed, pressing her finger to her lips. The man zipped his lips, not speaking after that. They started seeing a few less cars as they walked further onto the highway, seeing two large coach buses blocking the road directly behind them, the entire section ahead of them was clear of cars, filled with what seemed to be luggage and other personal belongings. They spotted several sleeping bags lying around, along with a bucket that had a toilet seat on it, hidden behind two cars.

"Seems like people were waiting here to be rescued." Hinata said quietly, looking around for anything useful. Other than spent shell casings, he didn't see anything, not even a knife.

"Um...what happened to them?" Asami asked curiously. Saya gestured the large pool of blood next to a car, a large piece of intestine was still there, making the woman almost vomit.

"You tell me Asami, what do _you_ think happened here?" she asked. Groans caught their attention, looking ahead of themselves, they saw a small group of Freaks shambling toward them. They were somehow able to get past all of the cars in front of them, leading Hinata to believe they had done it before. He saw Tamaru quickly raise his shotgun, and he shook his head, placing his hand on the muzzle.

"I got this." he said quietly. He reached for his now emptied backpack, pulling out what looked like a flashlight. He pulled Sally from his holster and started screwing the flashlight onto the end of the barrel.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tamaru asked curiously.

"This gun belonged to a Royal Marine, and has a threaded barrel. I took this flashlight and some adapters from the hardware store and fashioned a suppressor. I'm about to put it through it's maiden gunshot. Kohta, keep me covered." He said simply, earning a thumbs up from the teen.

"He's crazy, this isn't television...it'll never work."

"Have faith in him. Hinata may be an ass sometimes, but he's really smart, not on my level though, but he's pretty smart." Saya said, earning a scowl from her boyfriend. He flicked the safety of his gun off and took aim at the nearest Freak. He pulled the trigger, a soft pop filling his ears as it's body dropped to the ground. He fixed his aim and took down a second Freak, this one wearing the same uniform as the students of Fujimi academy. He didn't say anything, and continued taking down the Freaks around him, thankfully there were only nine of them. The end of his gun was smoking a bit, but his improvised suppressor worked perfectly.

"Nice work Hinata. You'll have to show me how to make one of those later." Kohta said.

"Of course. It's really easy once you take the inner workings out of the flashlight...let's keep going, I didn't see anymore of _them_ past this little area." he said.

Jumping over a few cars, they kept walking forward, keeping their eyes firmly on the road ahead of them. The large green signs pointing them to exit 34B were few and far in between. There were also signs pointing them toward Taiei Shopping Town and a few local eateries. Everything was going smoothly, at least until the saw the path ahead of them was blocked, by a fallen airliner. The Boeing 767 had crash landed right on the road, the wings having broken apart as soon as they made contact with the ground. One of the engines was still spinning, and some of the plane was still on fire. Several dead bodies could be seen hanging from the broken fuselage, along with a few Freaks that had been feasting on a few bodies, perhaps of possible survivors.

"Dear god! Do you think there are survivors?" Asami asked, a hopeful tone in her voice.

"Yeah, probably. And maybe Burger King is still taking Drive through orders!"

"Saya! I'm very sorry Asami, but this was probably a consequence of the EMP that was detonated a couple days back. There is no one here we can save, this plane is only here as an obstacle to our mission. We'll have to go off road." Hinata said, looking around briefly. His eyes lit up when he saw a large billboard not that far from where they would. The billboard itself was actually right over a large chain link fence which was topped with barbed wire. The fence was blocking the entrance to what looked like a motel.

"That'll do. Let's cut across this motel, we can get around that plane and maybe keep going through to the off ramp." Hinata said. He unscrewed the suppressor from his handgun, placing it back in his holster. He shoved the suppressor back in his backpack, grabbing his rifle from his shoulder.

"Are you sure that's a wise idea kid? That place looks fortified, meaning it could have been used as a stronghold against _them._ It could also be overrun." Tamaru said.

"It's a risk we'll have to take. Trust me, I'm not looking forward to it either...well...I sort of am, might be a good chance to stock up on pillow mints!" he said with a chuckle.

They walked off the pavement and started walking down a grassy slope, heading down toward another two lane road, that was also blocked by the plane. They looked around for a few seconds, taking out any Freaks that were nearby. They reached the base of the billboard, pausing a bit to take a look around at the motel.

From what they could see, there was a tall cement wall which separated the motel from the road. The area around the back of it was blocked with chain link fence, which linked back up with another wall on the other side of the motel, the sign being on the outside of it. The entrance to the motel was blocked by two large buses, which had their tires blown out, probably to stop any of _them,_ from crawling underneath it. He did see two APC's within the lot, along with a few other cars, and some suitcases by what he assumed was the pool. He wouldn't be able to know what was past those fences unless he climbed over them. He walked to the other side of the sign, spotting the ladder. He slung his rifle on his shoulder and started his long climb up.

"Be careful!" Saya called out, earning a chuckle in return.

"I always am sweetie. Next time you go first, I wanna watch your ass as you climb all the way up!" he called down. Saya blushed brightly, clenching her fist in embarrassment, while Kohta gave the teen a jealous glare. Making it to the top of the billboard, he looked around making sure it was clear before giving a low whistle. Saya took that as a signal and started climbing up, followed by Kohta, Asami, Tamaru, and finally Takashi. Walking to the other side of the billboard, Hinata scanned his surroundings, looking calmly through his scope.

The motel was made of three buildings, two of them being filled with small apartments. They each had two floors, with six apartments each. The building directly below the billboard was most likely the office building where all of the workers would be. The entire lot was devoid of life, the large white wooden fence had been knocked down, and used as a bridge to connect the first building to the balcony of the second. He could see shrubbery on the other side of the lot, along with some tall green trees. He hopped down from the billboard, and walked over to the edge of the building, peering into the lot.

Hinata has gotten used to seeing a lot of grim stuff over the last week, but this was once of the most sick things he had seen in awhile. Several bodies were laying on the ground, covered in blue tarp and bed sheets. Several Freaks were shambling around, some kneeling on the ground, tearing apart bodies of the recently deceased. He looked at what was once the pool, seeing it filled to the brim with bodies, he could see large amounts of blood all over the lot, some of them having drag marks. Some of the Freaks were dressed in ACU's, the familiar looking camouflage of the US Marine Corps made Hinata feel a pang in his heart. Those men laid their lives down to protect those people, and in the end they didn't even succeed. He looked away from the pool, the smell of blood and rotting flesh was really starting to bother him.

"Don't look at the pool." he said firmly. Kohta took a quick peek at it, his face turning pale right after.

"So, where do we go from here?" Tamaru asked curiously. Takashi looked at his map, quickly locating the motel on it.

"Looks like there's a ravine behind this place. If we go down it and cross the stream, we'll be able to make it back to the off ramp that leads to exit 34B, if it hasn't been blocked yet that is." He said.

They silently but quickly moved across the roof top, hurrying over the small bridge and onto the balcony. Hinata peeked into the room, and luckily it had been empty. He opened the door and walked inside, straight to the bathroom. He saw the bathtub was filled with blood, two bodies laying inside. He ignored it and opened the cupboard that was above the sink. He saw a spare tube of tooth paste, which he didn't bother taking. He found a large bottle of aspirin inside, shaking it a bit, he estimated it was around half full. He didn't find anything else of interest, so he moved out of the room, tossing Saya the bottle.

"We might need that." he said.

"We have plenty of aspirin back at the mall dunce! Why bother with this?" she asked curiously.

"All of the aspirin in the world is never enough aspirin. Trust me, we'll run out sooner or later, and every little bit helps." he said simply. He continued sweeping the rest of the rooms, taking down any of the Freaks that were inside, before walking toward the other building. The balcony of it had been destroyed, leaving a large gap between the two buildings. With no other option, he climbed through the window, walking across the room toward the large hole in the wall.

"What do you think happened here?" Tamaru asked, looking at the scorched walls.

"Some of those soldiers probably came up here to hole themselves up, burned the walkway so the Freaks couldn't get in, and probably shot up this wall to create an opening into the next apartment in case they needed to leave in a hurry. Something tells me one of them was bitten though." he said, glancing at the half eaten body that had been dragged to the bathroom. He knelt down before the soldier and checked his pockets, avoiding all of the blood and entrails that had been sticking out of his body. Tamaru covered his nose and mouth, trying to hold back his urge to vomit. Asami didn't even bother with it, and upchucked into the bathtub.

"Jesus kid, what the fuck?" Tamaru cried out, unable to believe what he was seeing. Hinata pulled out two magazines from the fallen soldier's pocket, loaded to the brim with 9mm parebellum rounds. He reached into the man's boot, drawing a Browning Hi-Power from within. He released the magazine from inside it, seeing it still had eight unused rounds. He stood up, handing the gun to Asami, along with the spare ammunition.

"W-what do you w-want Asami to do with that?" she stuttered, wiping her mouth with her shirt sleeve.

"That .38 special is a bit impractical, and you only have a few rounds on you. With this at least you'll be able to load more rounds into it. I'm sure I can find some spare magazines from the other fallen soldiers in the lot." he said.

"Asami isn't taking that gun! That man...this officer would only disrespect him!" she exclaimed.

"Asami, I get where you are coming from, but these men died protecting people. Surely they would want us to survive, that's why they left their guns out in the open, so that people like us could use them to survive. It's sad, trust me...but we have to do whatever it takes to live now. So please...just take it." he said. The woman firmly shook her head, not wanting to take the handgun from him.

"I'll take it, I'm the only one here without a side arm anyway." Tamaru said, accepting the Browning from the young man. He looked it over, nodding to himself as he slung the shotgun onto his shoulder.

"I'm more comfortable with this than I am with a shotgun anyway."

"I suppose we can move on then." Takashi said, leading the group out of the apartment. Once outside, they headed toward the other end of the balcony, walking down the stairs. The road was clear of debris, having passed the plane that had been blocking their path, but an overturned gasoline tanker blocked their advance, making them take the ravine instead. Hinata silently took out the remaining Freak turned soldiers, checking them for extra ammunition. Luckily, one of them was carrying several STAGNAG magazines on them, which he split between himself and Kohta. He handed the spare pistol magazines to Tamaru, who shoved them into his pockets. They silently walked behind the motel, seeing the large trees and prickly shrubs surrounding the back of it, the lush green grass smeared with mud and bloody footprints. Hinata silently took out the Freaks near them, hitting the magazine release to replace his magazine.

"This looks pretty steep...we'll have to be careful." Takashi said, looking over the edge of the gully.

"Do we seriously have to take this way? Can't we just climb over the truck?" Tamaru asked, a look of fear on his face. Saya sighed, brushing aside one of the thin trees, showing him the large section of the bridge that had been blown off.

"We can't even if we wanted too. The military blew that entire section off to prevent the spread of the virus, which means that whatever is on the other side of this gully might be more serious than what's on this side. Man, that old lady better thank me after this." she snapped angrily. Hinata gave her a kiss on the cheek, making her blush a bit.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll carry you across the river so you don't get those cute slippers wet." he said, giving her a wink.

"You bastard! Stop embarrassing me in front of other people!" she snapped.

"Hinata, look down on that ledge...next to those two trees, do you see it?" Kohta asked, pointing to the gully. He looked down, seeing a ledge not far from where they stood, most likely eight or so meters down, and it looked really steep too. He narrowed his eyes a bit, squinting to see what he was talking about. He saw the corner of a yellow box, it was rectangular in shape, with black markings on it. He saw some words on it, but couldn't make them out.

"What do you think it is? A medkit?" he asked curiously.

"No man, don't you ever play video games?" Kohta asked.

"Is that a stupid question? I got shelves filled to the brim with them...every Call of Duty, Zombie shooter, horror game, you name it, I've played it. Just tell me what you think it is." he said.

"Incendiary ammunition, most likely belonging to those soldiers. They probably used that shelf down there as a rest stop before continuing down. They probably left it behind on accident, which also means they couldn't get back up here. It's a good thing we brought that rope." he said.

"By the looks of it, you are right. Find a sturdy post to tie this rope on, we'll have to double back through here to get back to the mall." Hinata said, passing the end of the rope to Tamaru.

"Uh...I can't tie knots worth shit man."

"Jeez, let me. I was a Girl Scout when I was ten, so I know how to tie a knot!" Saya snapped angrily, taking the rope and walking toward the post. She wrapped it around it, giving herself enough to work with before tying an intricate looking knot. Hinata whistled in amazement.

"Damn, that's the best Alpine Butterfly knot I've ever seen...smart, beautiful and nimble, you'll make an excellent wife my lady!" he said with a chuckle.

"S-shut up! Let's just get down there already." she snapped, tossing the rope over the ravine. Hinata pulled the rope as hard as he could, nodding to himself before starting his climb down toward the yellow box Kohta had mentioned. Once on the shelf, he picked the box up and kept his decent down. He let go of the rope and set the box down on a large rock, doing a quick sweep of the area. He shifted his rifle to three round burst and took out all of the Freaks in the ravine.

"These fucks are everywhere. How the hell did they get down here without dying?" he muttered dryly, sparing a glance at the piles of corpses near one particularly large rock, which was smeared with thick amounts of dried blood. He looked up to the bridge, seeing large sections of it hanging down over the ravine, a couple Freaks ended up walking right off, a loud sickening crunch filling his ears.

"Look alive kid, we can't just stand here day dreaming." Tamaru said firmly. Hinata gave him a nod, glancing back at Kohta who had already torn the lid off the box, his lips curling up into a grin.

"Hehe, Five hundred NATO incendiary rounds, in varying calibers and types. We have enough for a magazine of each one of our guns, and twenty or so shotgun shells. These guys know how to pack their shit in!" He said happily.

"Sweet, do they have any handgun ammunition?" Takashi asked.

"Sadly no. It looks like this is only meant for infantry users, rifles, shotguns and maybe some fifty caliber rifles. Saya, Takashi, grab the shotgun shells, we can't really do anything with the rifle ammunition for now." Kohta said.

"Actually, I got an empty magazine. I'll load mine up quick, you can have the rest." Hinata said. Everyone started grabbing their respective ammunition, with Hinata quickly loading his magazine with the blue tipped bullets. Tamaru and Asami kept watch, staring at the forested area, shivering a bit from the cold. The skies had been covered with thick gray clouds, and it looked to be early to mid afternoon now. It wouldn't be long until it got dark outside. Finally done loading his magazine, he placed it back in his satchel, before zipping it closed.

"So, what do we do now?"

"We just follow the river. Keep close, and take down anything you see, be silent...also if you can avoid a fight, then do so. It's best we save our ammunition." Hinata replied, looking at his teammates. They continued on their way in silence, after making sure the rope was still secure. Hinata took a deep breath, not really liking the scent of mud and stagnant water, it wasn't as if he could complain about it though, it wouldn't have made his situation any easier. He slung Charlotte over his shoulder, drawing Sally from his holster. He had been getting a little tired of carrying the rifle, his arms becoming a bit sore.

"Is something wrong sweetie?" Saya asked quietly. Hinata found it weird hearing her say something that affectionate, but he didn't mind it, it was actually welcome to him. He shook his head, looking ahead of themselves, seeing a few cars half submerged in water.

"Just a little tired, there's nothing wrong." he said, giving her a warm smile. She nodded, slinging her shotgun across her shoulder, drawing her Luger from it's holster. She took a hold of his hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"Don't worry, we'll be home soon enough!" she said firmly.

"So, you kids been dating long?" Tamaru asked, making conversation. Saya huffed, looking away from him.

"That's something that doesn't interest you!"

"Sweetie, he's just curious. We've been dating a few days now, we're actually childhood friends...sort of...I think.." he said.

"We are." Saya replied, shaking her head, muttering a few swears.

"Oh, damn man...so you two hooked up after shit hit the fan. That's a shame...not many places a couple can go too nowadays."

"Eh, we don't let that bother us. I mean, even now, a trip to the hospital is much more exciting then it would have been a couple weeks ago. Just makes me wonder what started all this." he said.

"Maybe it's some government virus, created by the Americans to use against the Russians, big surprise attack...undead soldiers, they wouldn't have to send more troops to war." Tamaru said.

"That's stupid! There's no way a government virus could alter the human body this much. Get real, this is just nature taking it's course. The world is over populated, so it created a virus to take care of us. Much like the Black Death of the 14th century." Saya replied.

"A-asami learned about that in high school...millions of people died...do you think this is like that?" Asami asked, earning a nod from Saya.

"This is exactly like that, except worse...much worse. People tearing each other apart, Jesus, I've seen it but I still can't believe it. But I have readily accepted this new world. Not accepting it will only lead to your death, just like that woman back at my house...she didn't want to see what was in front of her, and she paid the price for it." she said simply.

"Let's just keep focused guys." Takashi said, ending the conversation. He could tell Saya didn't want to remember what had happened at the Estate. It was still too fresh in their minds for them to forget. He could only hope her parents were fine but...in this new world, everyone was an orphan. The river got a bit deeper the further they walked, and finally they found an area clear of trees and shrubs, which would lead straight to the road. Once they were sure no Freaks were in the area, Hinata picked his girlfriend up in a bridle carry, making her yelp in surprise.

"What the hell are you doing?" she snapped angrily, her face tinged pink.

"I told you I was gonna carry you. Just keep looking ahead will you?" he said, taking his first steps into the water. Thankfully, the water wasn't that deep, and his boots were meant for all terrain travel so he wasn't worried about his feet getting wet. That couldn't be said for the others though, who were cringing at the feeling of cold water and mud on their feet. After trudging through the river, they made it to the other side, pausing to let the others drain their shoes of water, and change into a new pair of socks, which thankfully Kohta had brought just in case something like that happened. Hinata was glad he was into Military stuff, it made him think and act more refined than a regular person.

"This slope should take us street side...maybe if we're lucky we can find a way around this place and not have to come back through here." Takashi said firmly, looking at his map.

"Yeah, maybe we'll find a goddamn car that works. Can't believe all of the cars back at the mall don't work...pisses me off." Hinata muttered angrily. He shoved his hand in his pocket, pulling his phone from his pocket and flicking it open. He looked at his percentage, seeing it was still in the eighties. He hummed to himself.

"Alright, we left at noon and it's a quarter to three, so if we keep this pacing, provided we don't have to take another detour...we'll make it to the clinic by three twenty-five. Not bad pacing guys, not bad at all." he said, closing his phone after making sure it was on silent.

"Man, it's a welcome sight to see a working phone...I miss mine man, I had the best music on it." Tamaru said.

"What, like The King? You look like the type." Saya said firmly. The man chuckled.

"If you mean the King of Rock, then yes I listened to all of his music, the same for the King of Pop. But I'm not just an oldies man, I love the new stuff too, except maybe Dubstep, my little sister used to blast that shit all the time." he said firmly.

"Asami's roommate loved listening to that too. It was a bit grating on Asami's ears though, so she usually spent her time off on the roof of the police academy studying everything. Even then, she wasn't that good of a police officer." the woman admitted, making Kohta frown a bit.

"You aren't that bad of an officer, Asami. My mother has spoken wonderful things about you, and I trust that you'll get better with experience." Hinata replied.

"But...Hinata said that I didn't assert myself as an officer, and that I was useless." she replied.

"I never said you were useless Asami. I just said that you need to act instead of observe...besides that was just an anger fueled tantrum. I was reacting that way after I killed Shimada, so I didn't really mean any of it. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings alright?" he said, looking at the young woman, who was blushing brightly.

"It's no issue Hinata-kun, y-you did what you had too...to protect Miss Marikawa." she replied. Saya's lips pursed a bit when she heard the honorific, but didn't say anything against it.

"Still, I needed to say something. We all have to make tough choices in this world, sadly, I didn't think killing people would be one of those." he said, slumping his shoulders.

They walked over the slope, eyes widening a bit as they saw the area in front of them filled to the brim with Freaks. To their left was the off ramp that would have lead them there, should the highway still be accessible. The entire plaza was sealed off with a large chain link fence, though a large section of it had been taken down by a coach bus, the area around it being filled with _them._ Looking through the scope of his rifle, Hinata was quickly able to find the clinic, a solitary building, not that far from the main plaza, near some residences. There was a road leading behind it, toward a small incline. The area to their right was a road that lead to the off ramp, which would lead them back toward the mall instead of away from it. He noticed the other bridge was perfectly intact, meaning they could take it back to the mall.

"Alright, seems like there's around two maybe three hundred Freaks out there. There are a bunch of small chain stores and rental stores here, so we shouldn't waste our time with them. One of them however might prove useful in our escape. We need to get in, grab the stuff and get out, using this road here as our getaway." Hinata said, gesturing to the street they were gonna take.

"What do you think Saya?" Takashi asked.

"Why do you want my opinion?" she snapped back, earning a chuckle from him.

"Well, every leader has his staff right? Hinata is the second in command, and your our strategist, it's a shared job of course." He said, looking between the couple, Hinata giving him a smirk while Saya just scowled.

"I agree with him, though we should check some of these cars in case they work. I think that pick up truck over there will suffice." she said, pointing to the Toyota Tacoma that wasn't that far from the clinic. Hinata withdrew a pipe bomb from his backpack, taking the lighter from his girlfriend's hand.

"What the fuck is that?" Tamaru asked curiously.

"A fire cracker!" Hinata said simply. Grabbing his rifle, he slowly started making his way toward the lot. He pulled out a pair of bolt cutters, using them to cut a large enough gap in the fence for him and the others to get in. Once inside, he pressed the button on the bomb, holding it up. Instantly, all of the Freaks started moving slowly toward him. He started taking a few steps back, keeping his eye out for any that would come behind him.

"What's he doing?" Tamaru asked curiously. Saya was quick to answer, a smirk on her face.

"He's trying to see if those Freaks are Runners. You see, this virus is mutating the human body, making them do things that they normally wouldn't, case in point, people eating people, but some of them like to pretend to be Shamblers, while being Runners, a deadly version of the common Freak that can run faster than normal. Me and Hinata dealt with several hordes of them on our way to Mercy Hospital. They are capable of running without stopping for long periods of time, climbing buildings regardless of hand and footholds, and take several bullets before coming down. One thing I did notice was that they seemed to go down with regular body shots, and when they reach you they hit you instead of try to bite you." Saya said.

"I thought all of them bit you...interesting." Tamaru muttered. Their eyes widened a bit when some of the Freaks started running at Hinata, who just kept his calm. He quickly lit the fuse of the bomb and threw it behind himself, quickly hopping into the bed of a truck. The Freaks kept running, moving toward the source of the noise. A few seconds later, a loud explosion rung though the area, sending body parts and human torso's flying all over the place, landing onto the pavement with a loud _splat_ , that seemed be coming from everywhere at once. Saya quickly stood up, racing toward the hole in the fence, Takashi and Kohta following suit. Hinata met up with his friends, giving them a firm nod.

"I'll check the truck, you guys go onto the clinic." He said.

"I'll cover you, Takashi, Kohta, be quick about it." Saya exclaimed firmly.

"You got it! We'll be back!" the spiky haired teen cried. Hinata reached the truck, quickly throwing the door open. He was glad that in the apocalypse, all of the car doors in the area had been left open by their owners. Quickly looking around, he didn't spot keys, making him grit his teeth.

"Saya, do you know how to hotwire a car?" he asked.

"Is that a serious question?" she asked, glaring at her boyfriend. He just looked at her with a doe look in his eye, making her push him aside.

"Cover my ass, I'll handle this." she said, jumping into the driver's seat. She looked around for a few seconds, pulling the plastic casing off the steering column. She grabbed a set of wires and pulled out, looking at the different sets.

"Any luck?" Hinata called out, keeping his eyes on his surroundings rather than her round behind.

"Don't rush me! I don't wanna give myself an unnecessary shock." she snapped back. She pushed her glasses back a bit as she tried to mess with the wires. She gave the plastic casing another hard tug, hoping it would snap, but she wasn't able to get it off. She grit her teeth in anger.

"Sweetheart, I need a Philips head screw driver, or else I won't be able to get this case off." she replied.

"Shit, I didn't bring one. Just let me handle it." he said, shrugging off his backpack. He reached inside, pulling the small crowbar he had brought with him out. Without giving the girl a warning, he jammed it between the two plastic casings and pulled down, snapping the screws right off. He tossed the plastic casing out of the car, gesturing to the wires under the steering column. Saya sighed, grabbing the wires and pulling the white adapter off. She used her knife to strip some of the wires, making sure to keep the battery wires and the ignition wires separated.

"Tell me if it lights up." She said, twisting the battery wires together, as soon as she did, the alarm started going off, making her hit her head on the steering wheel, hard enough to knock herself out.

"Shit." he muttered dryly. He reached for the black lever and popped the hood, quickly running to the front of the car. He opened the hood and looked around for a few seconds finally located the alarm. Giving it a firm tug, he pulled the wires connecting to it, killing the sound entirely. He slammed the top closed and walked back around, grabbing his unconscious girlfriend and pulling her out of the driver's seat.

"Damn it, she's gonna be so pissed when she wakes up." he muttered dryly, opening the passenger door. He gently placed her inside, checking her over for injuries, and luckily she didn't have any, other than a slight bump on the back of her head. He took her glasses off and placed them in the protector case, shoving it in her front pocket. Closing the door he quickly ran back to the driver's seat, gritting his teeth as he saw a small group of Freaks shambling his way. He grabbed Sally from his holster and flicked the safety off.

"Okay, sixty five or so meters, I got enough time." he muttered, shoving his backpack into the truck. He grabbed his suppressor from inside and quickly twisted it into place, turning around just in time to kill the leading Freak. His body dropped hard to the ground, a sickening squelch filling his ears. He shifted his aim and fired a second round, nailing the second Freak right in the eye, and the third right on the nose. He got into the truck shortly after, and locked the door for good measure. Looking under the steering column, he saw the two black wires that Saya had connected, along with four other ones, two red ones and two orange ones. He licked his lips, taking a deep breath.

"Alright then, red or orange...which is it?" he muttered to himself. He jumped a bit when a Freak slammed into the car, banging his face against the glass, his bloody jaws smearing the dark red liquid all over the glass. He held back the urge to shoot the damn thing, as he started fiddling with the wires, finally deciding on the orange ones, he touched the two together, hearing the engine stall. He kept touching them together, teeth grit as another Freak slammed into the side of the car. Finally, after three tries, the engine started. He let go of the wires, grabbing the steering wheel and giving it a firm tug, snapping the safety luck off.

"Guess I keep getting lucky. Uncle Tadashi told me it would be impossible to just turn the wheel hard enough to snap the locks, oh well." he said simply to himself, shifting into drive. He sped off, the two Freaks falling forward. He slowed to a stop and shifted into reverse, driving right over their bodies, the car jerking hard as he drove over them. He grabbed Saya's seat belt and pulled it over her massive chest, snapping it into place.

"Christ, I can't believe she's a natural F-cup...guess she got lucky too." he muttered, as he drove toward the clinic, slamming into several Freaks that were blocking the doors into the building. He looked inside, eyes widening when he saw that it was overrun.

"Shit, Takashi, Kohta." he muttered. One large Freak slammed into the front of the car. He was dressed in what looked like a construction worker outfit, with a bright yellow vest, and a yellow hard hat over his head. There was a chunk of his shoulder completely gone, and he was still holding onto a wrench. He gave a loud groan which seemed to be louder than the engine of the truck. His head suddenly snapped to the side, brains and blood washing over the windshield as his head literally exploded. He looked up toward the roof of the building, seeing Takashi, along with Kohta and Asami. He drove forward a bit, and they jumped into the bed of the truck. He quickly drove off, heading back into the plaza. He opened the small window in the back windshield, and Takashi started climbing inside, followed by Asami. Kohta had volunteered to stay in the bed of the truck, holding onto to dear life as he sped past the fence toward the other off ramp.

"What happened to Tamaru?" he asked, looking at Takashi in the rear view mirror. He frowned, shaking his head. He noticed Asami was holding the Benelli Nova in her hands, along with the Browning Hi-Power the man had been using, and the satchel of ammunition.

"Asami...Asami had too...he got bitten..she had to.." she tried saying.

"Asami...it's alright...you don't have to say anything." he said.

"What the hell happened to Saya?" Takashi asked curiously.

"We were trying to hotwire this piece of shit and she accidentally activated the alarm, when she did she hit her head on the steering column, knocking herself out." he said.

"She's gonna give you so much shit for that you know." He said firmly. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah...although now that I think about it...this whole trip...It was just a waste...hopefully that old man took my words to heart." Hinata said firmly, glaring at the road ahead of them. Takashi chose to stay silent after that, silently agreeing with him. It wasn't a good day for all of them, especially because they had just given a life to save another. Hinata was just glad he hadn't taken it this time around.


	14. Dead Escape

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 14

Dead Escape

Hinata wasn't one to smoke or drink. He had been taught that those kinds of things would only make you get sick when you were an adult. His parents didn't drink, and neither did his aunt and uncle, but he had seen several kids at school drinking on the roof, whenever it was that he wanted to go up there for some peace and quiet. Normally he would just avoid fights, but being a huge video gaming nerd, it still brought you attention, though with people like Nozomi as your friend, you were left alone most of the time. But nothing was normal anymore, at least too him.

He and the others had successfully delivered the plasma to the old woman, and Shizuka had successfully done the transfusion. Meanwhile, Takashi, Kohta, Asami and himself were sitting in the offices, resting after the long trip. They had run out of gas halfway back, and had to trek the rest of the way on foot, while he had to carry an unconscious Saya, who woke up just as they had entered the mall parking lot, giving him shit for letting her knock herself out. As soon as they had entered the safety of the outlet mall, she took off to who knows where. He just sat there in his chair, a cigarette in his mouth, a thin trail of smoke slowly making it's way up to the ceiling, though thankfully the sprinkler system had been hooked up to the damaged generator, making it impossible for them to work at the moment. It was his second one, within the two hours they had come back.

"We all need to talk." Kohta said, stressing his point, looking at each of his friends, a tired look on his face. He brushed his sweaty locks aside, licking his lips.

"Not like there's anything to talk about, Asami's tired." Hinata said, looking at the worn out Police girl who was barely awake. He took a puff of his cigarette, flicking the ashes to the ground beside him.

"NO, We do need to talk." he replied firmly, making Asami jolt awake.

"Why?" Takashi muttered.

"What we all need to do is review the answers to the test we just fucked up. We on the same page here? We let a perfectly able person go to waste." he said, slamming his hands on the table.

"There was nothing we could have.."

"Bullshit!" Hinata snapped angrily. The fact that they had lost Tamaru pissed him off. He knew it was a risk going to get that plasma, but it was an unnecessary risk, one that we didn't need to take.

"The old lady will croak next week, and then what? It's not like we can get more plasma. Shizuka needs more than just a transfusion kit for that." he replied, crushing his cigarette in his hand, not caring that he burned himself.

"He's right Komuro, up until now we've been following what you've been saying, and trust me we're all grateful for it. But while we followed everything, mistakes were made. We didn't need all of us going to get the Plasma. Two of you could have watched the entrance while the other two got the supplies."

"Two, that would be me and Tamaru." Takashi muttered, looking at the table.

"Don't talk about him..I had to shoot him. Asami had too shoot him...she had too..." Asami cried out, clearly distressed.

"I told him I would have been fine. Taking a few of the ones next to me with my Handgun would have given me the time I needed to jump into the hole." Asami continued, regret was laced in her voice.

"See, that's why we need to talk about it. We have to figure out why it ended that way and what to do so it doesn't happen again." He said firmly.

"I guess even Hirano can be serious sometimes." Saya muttered, glancing into the room. She and Saeko were leaning against the wall outside the office, listening to the conversation inside.

"Personality has nothing to do with it." Saeko quipped, hand on her sword for reassurance.

"What do you mean? Hirano and the Police girl are getting close. They need to take things seriously or..." Rei said.

Saya scoffed, shaking her head and looking away from the brunette.

"You ever wonder what people do when their afraid?" she asked. Of course she didn't get a response from her.

"He's beginning to see how savage the world is. How savage people have become. He also knows what its like to kill someone first hand. The fear of death, killing to stay alive, something like that could easily cause P.T.S.D."

"But we haven't killed...the only one who's killed is Hinata...Kohta hasn't..."

"That was them." Saya cried out, cutting the girl off. She took a deep breath, clearing her throat.

"Or so we thought. You know, whoever called them _them_ surely did us a favor. They knew we'd have to face more of them and it was better if we didn't see them as former humans." she continued. Rei's face paled, remembering Hisashi, who was the first one to label the recently deceased as _"Them"._

"I agree with you, but is that all we're getting at?" Saeko asked.

"Of course not." Saya replied, facing the purple haired girl.

"When I was with my parents, I finally accepted the world that we were living in. Surely there must be someone or something that helps all this pain become bearable. Hinata is my escape, using my smarts to help everyone is also an escape, so are the munchkins." she admitted. Saeko and Rei both looked away, thinking about Takashi and his laid back attitude. Saya smirked and looked back into the office, seeing Kohta moving his arms around, clearly explaining one thing or another.

"For Kohta, that's what Takashi, Hinata and that Police woman are doing. It's for their own sake." she said.

"But, what about Shizuka and Alice, Savannah and the others?" Rei asked.

"Shizuka is our driver, she's also the doctor and one of the only two adults in the group. Nick is our front line defense, the list goes on, as for the munchkins..."

"What Saya-chan? Who's the munchkin?" Alice asked. Saya smirked and hugged her tightly.

"That would be you, you little rascal." she cried out, pinching her cheeks, much to her dismay.

"What about you Saya? Weren't you out there with them? Didn't you see what went down?" Rei asked. Her breath hitched and she looked away, huffing loudly.

"I didn't see shit! Me and Hinata were outside hot wiring a car...so we didn't see what went down...all we got now is a useless handgun with no extra ammunition and half of our supply of shotgun shells. But the lady lived for another week, so loosing munitions was definitely worth it." she said, the sarcasm dripped off her voice as she continued glaring holes at the wall.

"Oh, you're all out here, why not come in?" Asami said happily, allowing them entree into the room. Hinata stood up and stretched, popping the bones on his back. He needed a hardcore nap after all the crap he went through, but he was sure that was easier said than done.

"I'm worried though." Rei muttered, prompting Saya to look at her.

"Why is that?" She asked.

"It won't he long until one of them snaps. Just like Hinata when he killed Shimada, he seems like he's coping well, but who knows whats going through him right now." she muttered.

"Well, I surely won't forget my role in all of this." Saeko said, a smirk on her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Surely you realize that we're of the opposite sex no? I'll do my best to to keep them in line." she said.

"Asami will do everything she can as well." the police girl said, clapping her hands. Zero barked loudly, wagging his tail.

"You look tired, you should rest up for today." Rei said.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me." Hinata said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. Rei gave him a smile, finally loosening up around him. Sure, she had been angry with him about what he had done, but the more she thought about it, the better off it was. She frowned, looking away from him.

"Cousin, I wanted to apologize to you, about how I reacted when...that man was..."

"Don't worry about it Rei. I understand you completely...we're all trying to live our lives as best we can, and here I am killing people. But we can't avoid that, sooner or later we will run into a group of people that we'll have no choice but to kill. When that time comes, I hope you are ready to do what you must." he said simply. Her breaths were a bit shaky, but she ended up nodding in agreement.

"I'll be...I'll try to be...if not...would you...please...help me?" she asked, earning a nod from him.

"I couple of times, no doubt...but you have to be prepared on your own. I'll teach you how to use your Springfield Super Mach whenever Kohta can't teach you himself. Remember to shoot first and ask questions later." he said.

"Here, you must be hungry." Saeko said, handing small glass bottle, to Takashi, the teen glancing at the label. Hinata caught the name of the label and let out a chuckle.

"That's a sexual stimulant." Saya muttered under her breath.

"Kohta, Asami is very happy that we talked about this. My Senpai always told me to talk to one of our superiors, especially if we came back from a very bad crime scene. It made the pain more bearable, but Kohta, you're a high school student and you're already thinking like that. Asami is a Police officer and she's so useless." she said.

"No, I just happened to know that, that's all." he quipped, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"Hey, Saya-chan.."

"Big sis!" she firmly corrected.

"Kohta seems to be getting along with that police girl." she said, not finishing her statement. Saya chuckled.

"Is it that weird?"

"But don't you think that..."

Kohta looked at the table beside him, seeing Saya and Alice wrestling again, while the older girl kept insisting on being called Big Sis.

"Are you gonna leave?" Asami asked, getting his attention back. He nodded.

"We have to find Rei and Takashi's parents."

"Would...you just stay behind Kohta?" she asked, taking his hand in her own. Everyone stayed silent while Kohta looked at her.

"I already have companions that I'm traveling with." he said firmly. She let go of his hands and stood up, bowing to him.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so bold. But don't worry, Asami had a feeling you'd say that." she said with a chuckle.

Zero started growling, getting everyones attention. He ran up to the window and started barking rather loudly. Hinata moved towards the window, eyes widening a bit.

"Oh, shit...it's a Police officer." he said. Asami stood up, running toward the window.

"Don't tell me that..." Kohta stopped himself, praying to whatever God was up there that it wasn't.

"No..no no no no. This can't be happening, that can't be Officer Matsushima. It just can't be." Asami cried out, slamming her fists on the glass. The infected Police woman was stumbling towards the mall, a bite mark clear on her lower leg.

"She didn't make it to the police station, she got killed after she left." she shouted. Everyone looked down in sadness, it was clear Asami was banking everything on her friend bringing back help, and now that she knew it wasn't coming, she was trying and failing to keep herself together.

"There's...no..body. THERE'S NOBODY COMING TO SAVE US! She screamed, her voice echoing through the entire office.

The reality of the situation had finally hit everyone, the officer that had left to get help wasn't coming. Asami had lost it, tears fell down her face and she didn't know what to do. No one dared to speak, as to not upset her. The others from her group were in the room as well, wondering what was going on. Finally, she spoke, her tone of voice shaky, as she tried to contain her nervousness and sadness at the loss of her friend.

"It was all for nothing, Asami can't...she can't..."

"Asami." he muttered. She looked at him, a sick smile on her face. Her eyes were wide and brimmed with tears.

"Kohta." she muttered back. He swallowed hard.

"Asami."

"NOOO." she shouted, before running out of the office. Kohta broke into a run after her, leaving his friends behind, stunned at what had happened.

"Asami, hold up. Where are you going?" he asked. She stopped and looked back.

"Don't you start acting like a good person all of a sudden you four eyed _pig!_ " she shouted. He stood there shell shocked.

"A-Asami."

"Asami doesn't need anyone but Asami." she said firmly, before running off, heading towards the stairwell. Aiko looked at the young woman as she disappeared through the doors, holding her machine gun tightly in her hands.

"I heard screaming, what happened?" She asked, looking at Kohta. He shook his head, not wanting to answer. Hinata walked out of the room, locking eyes with his mother.

"Matsushima is dead. She never made it to the station mom...I'm sorry." he said. Aiko sighed, shaking her head as she glanced at the tile floor.

"It's alright. She knew it was a risk, she knew it could cost her everything, but she still wanted to go out there to get help. You know, I was the one who was gonna go in her place...I was geared up, I had this gun...but she knew Asami couldn't handle everything here on her own..so she told me to stay...goddamn it, if I had gone instead." she muttered dryly.

"Then I wouldn't have found you mom...I wouldn't have spoken to you again, that would have been you out there, and I saw you like that...one of _them_. I don't know what I would do. It sucks, that she died in vain, but it's better her than you." he said firmly, earning a shocked look from the woman. She gave him a sad smile, looking at the ceiling.

"Christ, I need a fifth of vodka...I can't believe I'm thinking something so fucked up." she replied.

"That Police woman that went to find help is dead. No one is coming to help us." the businessman said, puffing his cigarette. One kid was on the ground, covering his ears. His hair was shielding his face, but everyone could tell he wasn't doing so well mentally. Kohta came back into the room, looking at the floor.

"Hirano."

He looked up, in time to catch Alice in hug. He looked at Takashi who gave him a firm look.

"The Plan is tomorrow, we're leaving." he said. This got Hinata and Aiko's attention, the two of them walking into the nearby store everyone else had walked into.

"That's a little sudden don't you think?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

"If you have a problem with it then just say so. And FYI, the other group heard what she said, get it?" Saya said.

"They know the Police isn't going to help, they know no one is coming here to help them. We can't stay here and wait until shit hits the fan...we gotta start preparing..this place is lost." Takashi said firmly. Hinata sighed, closing his eyes.

"I had so many plans for this place...all it takes is a little thing to fuck up a plan...well...I suppose it's fine...we can go with the original plan and head to Mt. Fuji." he said.

"Sweetheart, don't you think that's a little too far?" Aiko asked curiously, earning a nod from him.

"It will be hard getting there, I know...but it's a good place to hole up..I won't go over the details, but trust me, it's a good place as any." he replied.

Back with Asami's group, all of the people were standing around inside the large office, just staring out the window seeing the now deceased Matsushima, shambling toward the mall, a large chunk ripped from her leg. The business man gulped, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"The Police ain't coming, they ain't coming here."

"Then what the fuck do we do now?" the other woman cried.

"We need to find a safe place." the young man said, gaining their attention.

"Where would that be? The Police station or?"

"How would we there? Cars don't work anymore." another man said.

"If we tried walking there, that old lady might croak like the Police woman...those kids, we should go with those kids until we find a better place." the first woman said, a firm look on her eyes.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Those kids are already too far gone...they are walking around, toting guns like nothing..killing those things. That kid, he killed Shimada...I don't trust them." the portly man in the tee shirt said, looking at the woman.

"Cut the shit, we can't rely on those kids, their a bunch of lazy asses." the man said, puffing his cigarette.

"What are you talking about old man?" another man said.

"What we need to do is find a safe place. We got plenty of food and water, if we keep the doors sealed off, the monsters can't get inside."

"How long will that last?" the teenager said, looking up at everyone. He gave a dry laugh, looking at them all, face pale and eyes widened.

"All of us will die...I'm an expert on zombies. I've seen every movie out there, eventually we'll all die and become them. Those high school kids will get eaten too, it doesn't matter if they have guns or not!" he said firmly, a grin on his face.

The old couple stood up, grabbing the IV pole from beside the bed.

"Where are you going?" Shimada asked.

"We just thought of getting some fresh air on the roof."

Hinata and Takashi had lead everyone else down to Victoria's Secret to retrieve their munitions and packs. After talking it out, they had decided to move out of the mall at that very moment, while the sun was still out. It wouldn't be that long until the foundations keeping Asami's group together

"We can't afford to waste ammunition, we don't have that much ammo for the rifles, we need to restock." Kohta muttered.

"I doubt the cops and S.A.T's would give us some. Maybe a gun store?" Takashi suggested.

"There's one near the castle, on the south side." Hinata said, grabbing his rifle, along with his satchel. Even though she had seen them before, Aiko still had trouble believing all of those kids were able to use those guns without issue. She didn't doubt Hinata's ability with a rifle, but she didn't know much about his other friends.

"You would know that." Saya muttered, grabbing her Luger and holster. She had Rei help her strap it onto her side.

"But..we might not be able to salvage anything. That's one of the places that ended up getting looted in the beginning, so there's nothing left." Takashi said firmly. Common sense told him that the gun store would go first. If what Hinata and Saya had mentioned about the ammunition dumps being in S.A.T. safe houses, then they could try to find one, but that was easier said than done.

"You don't know that." Kohta said.

"Listen, I understand that you're in a bad mood but.."

"But what?" he asked firmly, glaring at the spiky haired teen. He sighed, shaking his head.

"If there's anything you have to say, say it, I'd like to keep my life." Takashi said. Kohta deflated and let out a chuckle.

"You give up to easily Komuro, though I guess I do too." he said.

"Anyway, I better gather the others and let them know that Operation 009 Rescue Beta is underway." Hinata said, loading the magazine filled with incendiary ammunition into his rifle, pulling the bolt back.

"You named the mission?" Takashi asked.

"Problem?" he asked, a smile on his face.

"No, it actually sounds freaking cool." he said with a thumbs up. Hinata chuckled and started to leave the store.

"Before we leave, we should make sure we have everything we might need. It doesn't hurt to have an extra pair of clothes with you, in case something happens where we need to change. Also grab plenty of underwear and socks, especially socks...we don't need anyone getting gangrene or severe athletes foot." Aiko suggested, earning nods from everyone. They all split up, searching for what they needed.

"I'm...I'm gonna go talk to Asami...I don't want to leave like this." Kohta said, heading off toward the emergency exit.

"Hurry back you fat ass!" Saya called out, making the teen groan a bit as he dove into the stairwell.

"Aren't you too going to find what you need?" Aiko asked curiously.

"I already packed extra clothes for myself. It was one of the first things I did, it was also one of the first things I forced Saya to do." he said, looking at his girlfriend who gave him a huff.

"I don't know why you felt the need to pick stripped panties for me. I get the socks, they were fuzzy and cute, but the panties? Way overdone." She said.

"They look great on you, plus I love watching your ass shake when you wear them!" he exclaimed.

"Oh god son, please keep the bedroom talk to yourselves. I'm gonna go grab my gear, thankfully I left it upstairs so we can be out of here in no time." she said, taking off toward the spot where she stored her stuff.

"It's a shame you know...I was looking forward to spending more time here...we even went through all the trouble of turning the generators on." Saya said.

"Yeah, but sadly things never go according to plan." he replied. She took a firm hold of his hand, a frown on her face. He noticed she was wearing her engagement ring now, the diamond glittering brightly in the sunlight. He dug his hand in his pocket, pulling out a small white box from within.

"Uh...I know stealing is wrong and all but...I wanted to get you something for your birthday, since it's coming up and all." he said.

"Dumb ass, we don't have time for stupid shit like that!" she snapped angrily.

"I know but...just hear me out. I've realized over the last few days that you've become one of the most important people in my life. You help keep me sane, without you, I don't know what I would do. So please...accept this." he said, holding the box to her, bowing slightly to hide his blush. She gingerly took the box from his hand, tossing the lid aside carelessly. Her eyes widened a bit, seeing what was inside.

It was a necklace, the chain being made from pure silver. It was a thin chain, and was rather small. The charm that was attached to it was a platinum colored puzzle piece, in the shape of a heart, being around the size of a nickel. When she looked at it closely, she saw a thin letter etched into it, a beautiful letter H. She looked up from the box, a curious look on her face.

"This is beautiful, but why a puzzle piece?" she asked curiously. He rose up his left hand, showing off a gold colored charm bracelet, a single charm being attached to it. It was a heart shaped puzzle piece, which looked like it could fit into another one. She looked closer at it, seeing a stylized S on it, in the same font that had been used for her own charm.

"I picked a puzzle piece because you complete me, as cheesy as that sounds." he said, giving her a grin. She sighed, shaking her head as she took the necklace out of the box, and placed it on around her neck.

"Thank you Hinata." she said quietly. He leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on her lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her as close to himself as he could, loosing himself in a moment of bliss, as he ignored everything around him. Even with the sense of urgency, he wanted this, he wanted more, but he knew it wasn't the time.

A sharp scream of pain filled his ears, forcing him to pull away from her. He looked back at the store front, wondering where it had come from. He walked out of the store, looking in the direction of the bed store, where Asami's group had been staying at. He noticed the long haired teenager was clutching his side, a pained look on his face. There was a red splotch of blood on his white tee shirt.

"He stabbed me...he fucking stabbed me!" he cried, pointing to the other teenager, who had a deranged look on his face. He was still clutching the knife tightly in his hand, the red droplets falling to the tile floor.

"That's right...I needed to know if I could kill now...I'll kill you all, so don't try any stop me!" he said, taking a few steps back from the group, his knife being held up at them.

"Whoa kid, calm down now...don't do anything hasty here!" Hinata said, holding his hands up. The teen looked at him, aiming his knife at him.

"Don't come any closer! I'll fucking kill you both!" he cried loudly.

"Big brother Hinata...we're all...what's going on here?" Savannah cried, sliding to a stop next to Hinata. He glanced back, seeing the rest of his friends, all ready to go, including Asami who had her baton in her hands.

"Nothing sweetie, just get ready to go." he said.

"You can't leave us here, not with this deranged freak!" the business man said.

"Sorry man, dealing with him isn't my issue. Whatever happens here, good luck, you're gonna need it." Hinata said firmly. He gestured for the others to leave, his eyes firmly on the kid with the knife. Loud groans filled his ears, and he looked over the railing, down to the first floor, seeing a large horde of _them_ making their way into the plaza.

"What the fuck? How did they get in?" Saya called out in anger.

"Oh god, we're gonna die, their gonna tear us apart." the woman screamed, hiding behind the man with the pipe. Hinata grit his teeth, looking at the kid with the knife, who had a smirk on his face.

"You did this didn't you? You let them in!"

The teen didn't reply with anything coherent, other than a sick laugh. He lunged forward, running at Hinata with a predatory look on his face. He howled loudly, bringing his knife down on him. Hinata reacted quickly, dodging the teen barely missing the knife. He quickly tossed aside his pack and rifle, and got into a stance. Without a bayonet, he knew it would be useless, but he still knew how to fight.

"Hinata!" Saya cried, worry written on her face.

"Don't worry, I got this just focus on blocking the escalators!" he cried, not even looking back at her. She grabbed his pack, tossing it to Rei, handing the rifle to Takashi as they moved to block the nearby escalators. She knew he would be fine, he wasn't going to die anytime soon.

Hinata jerked his head to and fro, dodging every swipe thrown at him. He waited for him to throw another swipe before grabbing his arm, twisting it as hard as he could, getting him to drop the knife. He slammed his fist into his chin, sending him sprawling to the ground. The teen groaned in pain, looking around in confusion for a second, before scrambling for the knife. He grabbed it, just in time to look up at a Freak, that was about to take a bite out of him. He screamed loudly, only for the Freak's head to literally explode into bone fragments and brain matter. Hinata had grabbed a nearby manikin and had used it's arm as a makeshift weapon, taking down the nearby Freaks only to toss the arm aside, ignoring the blood on his shirt.

"This is between me and him, not you fucks!" he said, running at the teen again. He cried loudly, fear written on his face as Hinata swept him off his feet. He slammed to the ground hard, loosing the air in his lungs. He sat there, gasping for a few seconds, while Hinata just shook his head.

"I can't believe you would do this...you stabbed a fellow survivor and let all of these Freaks in here, for what purpose? This place could have been a stockade, you could have lived here for weeks on end until rescue came, instead you not only fucked yourself, but you fucked everyone else. I better not see you again." he said firmly, turning around to meet up with his friends. The teen started chuckling, a smirk on his face as he grabbed the knife that was beside him.

"You won't see me again...because I'm going to _kill you!_ " he cried angrily, running at him. Hinata swiftly turned around eyes wide as he was tackled to the ground. The teen pulled his fist back, bringing it down hard on Hinata's face. He grit his teeth, his eyes becoming teary and unfocused. He could taste copper in his mouth, and he was breathing hard. He punched the teen back, but due to his adrenaline, he just took it, and rose his knife up, about to stab Hinata in the face. His face was devoid of sanity, his eyes were wide and tears fell down his face, loud laughter erupted from his throat as he held the knife in the air.

"Goodbye asshole!" he cried loudly, about to bring the knife down. Hinata closed his eyes, his teeth grit.

" _This is probably retribution for killing those four...great...what a shitty way to go!"_ Hinata thought to himself. He didn't even get to say goodbye to Saya, or his friends. The teenager was about to bring the knife down to complete his first kill, only he stopped when something hot and red whizzed by his face, slamming into the back wall, bursting into several glowing red dots. He looked back, seeing smoke coming from the back wall, which was glowing red. Looking up, he saw Alice, holding a bright orange flare gun in her hands, her eyes soaked with tears. He was so distracted, he didn't even feel the cold barrel of Hinata's gun on his chin until it was too late. A loud gunshot filled the entire mall, his vision turned red and this time it wasn't in anger. Hinata tossed the teenager's body aside, just as a few Freaks knelt down to tear it apart. He didn't feel a single ounce of remorse as he stood up, drenched in his blood.

"Fuck you!" he spat, stepping backward, watching as the boy was torn apart by the Freaks.

"Hinata...Christ are you alright?" Aiko asked, checking her son over for injuries. Other than a few scrapes on his face from the tip of the knife, and a busted lip, he was fine. He took his shirt off, using it to wipe the blood off his face.

"Do I have any brain matter in my hair?" he asked, earning a head shake from his mom. Tossing his shirt aside, he quickly stepped into the nearby clothing store, grabbing the first one on the rack, slipping it on. He took his pack from Rei, and his rifle from Takashi.

"Right, we need to move before we're swarmed. It seems that asshole opened up all the emergency exits on the first floor, but if we take the stairs here, we can get down to the street easily." he said, going on as if nothing had happened. They all wanted to ask him if he was alright, but they knew it wasn't the right place or time. Takashi nodded, leading everyone to the stairs.

"Alright then, let's get going!" he said. They headed toward the stairs, throwing the door open, eyes widening when they saw the large amount of Freaks hanging around the parking lot. Hinata grit his teeth as he looked around for an exit.

"There's at least three hundred here..maybe more. We can't kill them all, and if we shoot we'll attract more." Kohta said firmly. Hinata dug his hand in his pack, digging his hand into Saya's shirt to grab her lighter.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" she shouted, the Freaks snapped their attention at her, and started shambling their way. He didn't say a thing, instead lighting the fuse. He pressed the button and threw it as hard as he could hoping they would follow the sound. All of the Runners moved toward it, crowing around it while the slow ones just followed after it. They waited for the explosion before finally moving down the stairs, getting onto the parking lot.

"Uh...what do we do now? Where do we go?" Rei asked, her eyes wide as she looked in all directions. She didn't like being surrounded, and she could see more Freaks walking toward them, no doubt attracted by Hinata's bomb.

"This way, we need to get out of here, toward the freeway!" Takashi said, leading them down the eastern part of the mall. Saeko raced ahead of them, slicing and dicing any Freak that dared come near them. Rei took out the ones she missed with her bayonet, while Hinata slammed the stock of his gun into their faces as hard as he could. One Freak wondered close to Savannah, making her scream loudly, only for Nick to shoot it, the birdshot wasn't enough to kill it, but it did dear it's arm and leg off. The Freak reached up for him with his remaining arm, only for it's head to be crushed.

"This used to be a nice neighborhood!" he cried loudly, blood spraying onto his shirt and pants.

"Get the fuck away from me! This shit costs more than your lives!" Melanie shouted, swinging her golf club as hard as she could, cracking an undead woman on the side of the head. Nozomi rushed past her, bringing her new pick axe down on the head of a Freak. She slammed her foot onto it's chest, jerking the tool out of it's head, only to slam it into the head of another.

"I'm tired of standing around doing nothing! No one is going to get hurt on my watch, not anymore!" she cried loudly. Melanie chuckled dryly.

"About time." she muttered.

"There's too many of them. Takashi, what do we do?" Kohta asked, looking to his leader for guidance. The teen slammed the stock of his shotgun into a Freak, splattering it's brains all over the side of a car.

"We need a distraction...um..shit...anything will do!" he replied. Hinata looked around for anything he could use, spotting an abandoned car, with three gas cans on top of it, held down by rope. He smirked, raising his rifle to his shoulder, looking right through the scope.

"Too easy." he muttered, pulling the trigger. The tanks erupted into flames as soon as it made contact, thanks to the incendiary round. It wasn't long before the entire car caught fire. He pressed the button on another pipe bomb and threw it in that direction, not even bothering to light it. Everyone fell silent, hoping the Freaks would take the bait, which luckily they did. They all ran for it, just in time to avoid the explosion. They all cried as they slammed hard into the ground from the shock. Hinata's ears were ringing loudly, and he was a bit dizzy from the sudden vertigo. He grabbed his rifle and quickly stood up, shaking his head a bit. He faintly heard Saya's voice and felt her take his hand, urging him to run. His vision cleared enough and he looked back at the remains of the car, a smile on his face.

"Great, that'll do for now. We need to make it to Aunt Kiriko and Uncle Tadashi's now mom, or else we'll be mobbed." he said, looking at his mother who gave him a nod. They took off, running out of the parking lot into the streets filled with Freaks. His vertigo finally gone, Hinata found himself in that all to familiar rush. He grinned as he barreled his rifle into the nearest Freak, sending blood and teeth and and teeth in all directions. He jumped onto the hood of a car and opened fire on the nearest ones, setting them ablaze thanks to his ammunition. One of them reached for his leg, taking it firmly in it's hands, only for it's head to get split in half. He flashed Saeko a smile as she raced into the crowd, slicing the nearby Freaks clean in half.

"We need to find shelter, some place we can hole up for a while." Saya said.

"There's too many around us...if we keep shooting, more of them will show up, at this rate...I'll have to shoot." Takashi said firmly, patting the vest pocket that held his shotgun shells.

"Everyone, let's head to the East Police Station! Matsushima didn't make it, but that doesn't mean it still isn't running. We can take this street up here!" Aiko said, pointing forward to the bend in the road that would lead them onto an off ramp, that would lead further into the residential district.

"But auntie Aiko, is that a wise idea?" Rei asked, a look of worry on her face. The black haired woman nodded, giving her a firm smile.

"Rei, it's the only option we have right now. I'm low on ammunition, and we need to hide from these fucks before we all get taken down. Plus it's gonna get dark soon. We can't be out in the open." she said.

"Mom is right, we need to move _now!_ " Hinata said.

"Alright, we have our heading, move out, everyone shoot at will."

As everyone moved toward the freeway, they came to realize that several hundred Freaks still remained in the area. No matter how many they took out, more of them seemed to show up. Hinata couldn't afford to waste anymore bombs, especially since they attracted more Freaks to them, and he couldn't risk running into a horde of Runners. He was running out of options, and frankly it was scaring him. A loud cry erupted from behind him, and he turned around, only to see Asami on the ground, having tripped over a suitcase that had been laying on the ground. She was panting hard, struggling to stand up as she reached for her gun. One of the Freaks dropped to the ground, taking a large bite out of her leg, her screams of agony filled their ears, as more Freaks started partaking in their new feast.

"ASAMI!" Kohta howled, tears streaming down his face. Aiko grit her teeth, racing into the crowd.

"Mom!" Hinata cried. The woman slammed the stock of her gun into one of the Freaks, killing it instantly. She opened fire into the crowd, cursing the Police laws for the removal of her gun's automatic function. She pulled the empty magazine from her gun and slammed in a new one, pulling the slide back.

"You fuckers! You took Matsushima, and now you take Asami too? Can't you fuck off?" she howled angrily. Asami coughed up a large glob of blood, looking up at her friend, a sad smile on her face.

"P-please...Aiko-san...don't...let..me...turn." she said, the last flickers of life leaving her eyes. Aiko looked down tears streaming down her face as she pulled the trigger of her gun, ending Asami's life. She backed away from the crowd, turning back to her son and the rest of the group, all of them traumatized by what had happened to them. A larger group of Freaks burst from a nearby alleyway, making her stop in her tracks, a shocked look on her face.

"Mom, hurry up!" Hinata cried, from his spot atop a truck. As fucked up as it seemed, Asami's death had drawn half of the large group away from them, leaving the on ramp clear of Freaks, but still more kept coming. He had already taken down most of them with his incendiary ammunition, but he had already run out of those rounds. Aiko bashed the nearest one in the face, it's body dropping to the ground.

"GO! I'll meet you at the station!" she cried, shooting off the rest of her magazine.

"NO! Not without you!" Hinata cried back, tears running down his face.

"Sweetheart, I've lived my life and I have seen a great many things, I had you, my sweet bundle of joy, you are surrounded by so many great people, and have a beautiful woman by your side. Forget about me, you go on and live your life!" she snapped back, replacing the spent magazine, not caring that she dropped one to the ground.

"Auntie Aiko! Please don't!" Rei cried, wanting to run into the group, to stab every single Freak around her beloved Aunt, only Takashi was holding her back. She tried but couldn't break free of his hold.

"Go goddamn it!" Aiko shouted, just as she slammed into a wall, her machine gun raised as she let off the last of her ammunition. She had a grin on her face, staring down at all of the Freaks in front of her, not fearing death in the slightest. Blood and brain matter bathed her body, but she didn't care, the last round fired out of her gun and she tossed it aside, drawing her knife from it's holster. She kept taking them down, but eventually she was overwhelmed, and they couldn't see her any longer. Hinata just stood there, shocked to see the Freaks tearing apart his mother. Even if he didn't see it from where he stood, he couldn't stop imagining it. He kept pulling the trigger of his rifle, but nothing but empty clicks filled his ears. He took a deep shaky breath before running off, heading in the direction of the police station.

Images of his mother flashed in his mind, of all the good times they had, the bad times, the times where they played together, hung out together, and even the times where they mourned together. He let out an anguished wail as he slammed his rifle into a Freak, smashing it's head onto the ground over and over again, blood bathed the pavement, but he didn't stop. He heard the groan of another Freak and looked to his left, only to see a bayonet pierce it's eye. Rei kicked the body back as hard as she could, sending it sprawling to the ground. She rose the rifle to her shoulder, flicking the safety off.

"Rei don't!" Takashi cried, but it went on deaf ears as the girl pulled the trigger of the rifle, nailing a Freak with surprising accuracy. She continued firing, taking down all the nearby Freaks until her magazine clicked empty, and when it did she dropped down to her knees, letting out a tired and anguished cry to the heavens above her.

"I'm going to kill them...I'll kill them all...whoever hurts my family...I'll kill them." Hinata whispered, his hands shaking in anger. The skies above him started rumbling as the onset of a storm was settling in. the wind picked up a bit, the scent of decaying flesh and blood filling his nose. It was at that time that he finally let go of the past world. It wouldn't serve him anymore, it would only serve to hold him back. The old Hinata was dead, gone with the old world, and the new Hinata, was the one that wasn't going to take shit lightly. Not after what had happened, not after the losses they had. He etched a second tally on the barrel of his M1911, shoving his knife back into it's scabbard. He grabbed his discarded rifle and slung it over his shoulder, flicking the safety of his handgun off.

"We're moving on, the police station isn't far from here." he said, looking back at his friends. They all gave him worried looks, but he shook his head.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine...Mom sacrificed herself for us, so that we could live on...and I'm not going to let it go to waste..so let's go." he said cheerfully, though a bit firmly.

"How can...how can you say that? Auntie Aiko is dead! Aren't you sad by that?" Rei snapped angrily.

"Of course I am, but this is reality Rei, so fucking accept it! People are born, they live and then they die, you aren't immortal and I am not immortal, but we can't bow down now. So either you stand up or you fucking stay here, got it?" he snapped angrily, walking up the street. Rei's jaw dropped, unable to believe her cousin had just said something so cruel to her. Saya brushed past her, breaking into a sprint to catch up to her boyfriend, who was trying his hardest not to burst into tears.

"Hinata, please...I know what you are going through, but you have to keep calm...you can't say things like that, even if they are true!" she said.

"I know...but it's the only way she'll understand. I'll be fine alright?" he asked, earning a nod from her. She pulled him into a deep comforting kiss, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. He pulled away from her and just buried his face into her shoulder, hugging her tightly as he let out his emotions.

 _Things were starting to become tougher and tougher, and it was only the first week of the apocalypse. Three months, six months, a year down the line, who knew what things would be like? The here and now, that's what mattered. Everything was starting to change, and while everyone wished for the world to go back to the way it used to be, I found myself relishing in it. Sure, I lost people dear to me, but living in a Freak infested world was more appealing than living in a normal boring life. From here on out, everything changed, far more than anyone could have ever anticipated..._


	15. Dead Station

Highschool of the Dead

Those Who Walk Among the Dead

Chapter 15

Dead Station

Even after everything that had happened, Hinata still had priorities to take care of. He couldn't dwell on past events or it would be his downfall. He had been watching Kohta taking shots at every Freak he had encountered, only for Saya to slap him across the face, literally knocking some sense into him. Thankfully, Shizuka had handled it nicely, using her psychology to help the troubled teen. Watching a girl he had developed feelings for die in front of him, Hinata knew why it would be so traumatic. He tried not to picture it happening to himself, but often times he saw his own demise at the hands of his infected girlfriend, it was something that he wasn't going to let happen, not now, and definitely not ever.

They had found shelter in a relatively small store, one that sold specialty gift cards. Thankfully the Freaks hadn't even noticed them, and the streets had been pretty clear, aside from a few shamblers making their way down the street. The clouds above them swirled with fury, their roars deafening the dead all throughout the city. Between all the guys, they had been able to place one of the large shelves in front of the door, successfully blocking it and preventing any of _them_ from walking into the store, but giving them enough room to see to the street. Everyone had been hanging around the store front, simply resting after running so far without stopping. After leaving the mall, everything had been going a little smoothly, with Takashi planning the safest way to the Police station. Of course with all of the Freaks hanging around, it would be a little hard on all of them.

Hinata himself was just laying against the front counter, his rifle by his side. He didn't do anything, just stare at the far wall, which was now visible due to the large shelf having been moved to the wall. Hundreds of greeting cards littered the floor, discarded, probably for days before they had taken refuge in it. He was loosely holding a water bottle in his hand, it's contents half gone as he swirled the clear liquid around. He took a deep breath, squeezing the bottle a bit, the crackle of the plastic filling his ears.

"Um...big brother...can I sit here?"

He looked up at Savannah the girl having a worried look on her face. He didn't know when she had started calling him big brother, or if he had even noticed her doing it, since he was used to her calling him mister all the time. He shook his head, gesturing for her to sit down. She remained silent for a few seconds, before hugging his arm tightly.

"Big brother...I'm sorry...Aiko-san didn't need to die...she was a wonderful person...she reminded me so much of my momma...she gave the same hugs...don't feel sad...our mommas are probably in the same place right now." she said quietly.

"Yeah...they're better off...wouldn't wanna see them suffer...I just hope I don't run into her...while she's like that." he muttered, releasing his firm grip on his bottle, the plastic was bent and twisted out of shape, little droplets of water decorating the inside of it. He uncapped it and finished it off, tossing the empty bottle aside. It wasn't as if anyone was going to yell at him for littering.

"You put my momma to rest...so if we see Aiko-san like that...I'll put her to rest for you...it's the least I can do." She said firmly. Hinata wanted to cry again, hearing something like that, coming from someone so young. It really upset him to hear it...he pulled her into a tight hug, running his fingers through her hair.

"It'll be alright...I think I can handle it sweetie, thank you though." he whispered. Savannah blushed a bit, her cheeks tinging slightly pink. She hated herself for feeling like that in such a bad situation, she cursed her hormones for making her feel things she didn't understand.

"Hey squirt, stop trying to steal my man." Saya snapped suddenly, startling the redhead, who backed away from Hinata, a look of shock and fear written on her face.

"I-I wasn't s-stealing anyone big sis, honest!" she said. The pinkette giggled, shaking her head.

"Why don't you go play with Alice and Zero? We're getting ready to leave soon, so sit tight for now." she said. Savannah nodded and stood up, walking over to where Alice and Zero were sitting, looking at several funny greeting cards that she had found on one of the shelves. She sat down next to Hinata, taking her hand into her own, looking at the bracelet he had taken for himself from the mall. She had to admit, he had good taste in jewelry, though a charm bracelet seemed a little more feminine than she had imagined he would pick. He didn't look at it, instead focusing on the discarded bottle on the floor, a frown on his face.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

"I'm fine!" he snapped angrily, he cringed right after taking a deep breath.

"Sorry sweetie, I'm coping with everything that's happened. I just regret not being able to do anything for her...if it wasn't for that fuck off back at the mall, we wouldn't have had to leave, we could have planned a safer escape. The best thing I did was blow his brains out." he said, a grin on his face.

"Good God Hinata...don't say stuff like that. It makes me think you are loosing your mind." she said, a little more quietly so that the others wouldn't hear.

"I know...but I'm saying the truth...that bastard tried to kill me..I can't let that happen anymore. The odds of us being rescued from Tokunosu are growing slim...it's best we just hurry up and find my aunt and uncle and head to Shintoko for Takashi's mother, before all of us end up dying." he said.

"We aren't going to die...we're gonna fight tooth and nail to make it to Mt. Fuji, just like you planned, so stop acting like a hard ass. I want my sweet caring Hinata back...I know what we're going through is hard but..." she trailed off, looking at her feet, noticing the ribbon she had tied around her ankle had a bit of blood on it. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to himself.

"I'm sorry...don't worry about me...I'll be back to normal in no time. It's just hard loosing your last remaining parent...all though it seems you and I are in the same boat now, just like everyone else." He said, gesturing to the rest of their friends. Nozomi was standing by herself, for the most part at least, since Melanie was talking to her, probably trying to cheer her up, after all...she had come to see Aiko as her own mother, and now that she had seen her die, she had lost hope of seeing her own mother alive. The blonde had given up on finding her parents entirely, having remembered that they had gone on a trip out of the country days before the Freaks appeared, so there had been no point in going to her home.

"Yeah...but we are all a family now...so we'll do what we have to, so we can survive and live through this. Even if we have to kill others...we'll make it." she said. He leaned in for a kiss, capturing her sweet lips with his own. She moaned softly, placing her hand on his cheek as she depend the kiss. He started reaching into her shirt, only for her to pull away from him, taking a firm hold of his hand.

"Not here...wait until we're alone dunce! Jeez!" she hissed, earning a chuckle from him. He gave her a kiss on the neck, biting into her flesh and sucking on it, leaving a nice red spot, just above her shirt collar. He pulled away, a grin on his face.

"There, now that I marked you, know that I will come collecting my debt soon." he said.

"Oh fuck you! Did you seriously have to do that? Look at my skin color, it's gonna bruise so easily." she snapped, hitting his chest repeatedly, making him laugh even harder.

"Well, looks like those two are hitting it off nicely." Kohta muttered dryly, placing more rounds into his empty magazines. Rei sighed, running her fingers through her hair while blowing bubbles out of the gum she had stolen from the candy display next to the register.

"My, is Kohta perhaps jealous that my cousin stole the object of his affections?" she teased, holding her rifle tightly to herself. He curled his lip, slamming the magazine into the receiver of his gun.

"It wasn't my choice...it was hers...and as much as I hate it, I can't do anything about it. Besides, I've been spending more time with Nozomi these days...it hurts...having lost Asami...it's like I lost at love twice." He said sadly, a frown deep onto his face.

"I'm sorry Kohta, I shouldn't have said something to heartless." Rei replied. He gave her a grin, pulling the slide of his rifle to chamber a fresh round in.

"Don't worry! There's no need to apologize...so long as I have guns, and plenty of ammunition, I am happy...I'm also not letting anyone take Nozomi away from me...I'll protect her with every fiber of my being...just like I promised myself I would protect her." he said, glancing at Saya, who was throwing several greeting cards at Hinata, the poor boy trying and failing to stop the rain of paper from hitting him.

"I don't doubt you will...but...Kohta I just want you to know...the only reason we're going to the police station is to find my father...you don't need to come with me and Takashi. We're just holding you back." Rei admitted, earning a chuckle from the rifle wielding teenager.

"Screw that noise...we're all a family now Rei, we can't just abandon each other, especially now that we've lost so much. We're gonna stick together to the very end!" he said. Rei couldn't help but smile, feeling a few tears slip down he cheeks. She didn't deserve to be surrounded by so many kind people, especially after all of the messed up things she had done before the end of the world.

"Are you sure Takashi?" Saeko asked, earning a nod from the spiky haired teen, who was shoving more shells into his shotgun.

"Yes, Tadashi is a detective, so he should be at the police station, and if he's not..then we'll have to go to my and Rei's house to search for our parents there. If not, then we'll end the search there and survive on our own." he said firmly.

"What are her thoughts on this? Rei I mean, is she okay with this?" she asked, earning a nod from him.

"Me and Rei discussed this at the mall before we left. If we didn't find our parents at the station or at our houses, then we would do our best to move on. If we kept searching, not only would we put all of you in danger, but we would run out of ammunition. We need to start thinking long term survival, and for that we need to find a place with ammunition. I was thinking maybe we could raid an S.A.T. shelter, one that's been abandoned of course...I can't see myself killing people for supplies." he said.

"But what if there are some still alive? Would we go with them? If there is a rescue I mean?" she asked.

"If there is, then yes...if not..then we move on. We can't exactly rely on them forever, and we don't have to listen to them either...they would most likely take our things and use it for themselves. That's the mentality of this world, as fucked up as it keeps getting." he said firmly. Saeko nodded, choosing to remain quiet. She could tell this decision was hurting Takashi greatly, but there was nothing she could do about it. Sometimes, you had to make tough choices, and this seemed to be one of them.

"Alright, just know that I'll be by your side no matter what you choose to do. I've grown quite fond of you." She said confidently, her hand resting on the hilt of her katana. Takashi blushed brightly, looking away from the purple haired samurai.

"Y-yeah...s-same here."

"Takashi, are we ready to move out?" Hinata asked, stopping in front of the young man, who gave him a nod.

"We're all ready to go. From here on out, our focus is the East Police Station, it isn't that far from here, but we should be able to make it without much trouble. I just wanted to say something else before we move on...we're going there for Rei and my parents, you don't have to come with us anymore, if you want you can go on without us." Takashi said. Hinata shook his head, chuckling a bit.

"Takashi, you forget that Kiriko and Tadashi happen to be my relatives as well, there's no way in hell I'm leaving without them. Besides I...we've chosen to come with you." He said, taking Saya's hand, the pinkette giving him a firm nod.

"Same here friend, where ever Hinata goes, I go. I owe him for getting me out of Tokunosu West alive." Nick replied.

"As much as I hated the dweeb before, I gotta say he's good when it comes to planning things out, and he's great with that rifle, it would be a mistake to go on my own." Melanie added.

"Hinata is my best friend in the whole wide world, leaving without him wouldn't be in my best interests. I'm still not used to this, and I need to make sure my mother is safe, she should be at Shintoko Third Elementary with her class, but if she isn't there, then we will move on and survive on our own. That's my personal decision." Nozomi said firmly.

"Are you sure Zo? I don't mind taking a little detour to our homes to see if she's back there." Hinata said.

"No...Takashi and Rei decided on this, and I'm inclined to be on board with them. We move on without our parents if we can't find them at either location. Besides it's not like I can go to the Nuclear Power Plant to find my father." She said. Hinata looked around, giving Takashi a firm nod.

"Right, then let's get a move on, before it gets to dark to navigate through the streets." he said.

"We're taking the back exit, that will lead us to a street that will connect us to the station. Stay lively, and stay silent." Takashi said, earning firm looks from everyone. With that they left the Greeting Card store, a new destination in mind.

The streets seemed to be devoid of life, living and unliving as they quietly made their way to the Police Station. It seemed as if the bombs that Hinata had used before had attracted the Freaks in the direction of the mall, so they would be safe for awhile. That didn't stop them from running into the occasional Freak, which was taken down by either Rei or Saeko, who were becoming more and more used to taking them down as they went along.

In his mind, he was already making plans on how to leave the city. The highway was a no-go, seeing as the bridge going over the gully was destroyed, and backtracking to that motel was out of the question at this point. The only other option that came to mind was to leave the city via the drawbridge, which would lead them east through the Tokunosu National Park before being clear of anything, at least until they reached Tokyo, which would be three hours from them. There was also the possibility of them finding a deserted island, but with how things were going, he doubted finding one that was well stocked would even be practical at this rate. The more he thought about it, the harder it became.

Ten minutes of silence passed, before Takashi lead them into an alley way, a large gap between two brick buildings that had been blocked off by some dumpsters. The street would lead them straight to the police station.

"I don't know what we'll find in there, so be ready." Takashi whispered to him, making him nod.

"I understand...If I see anyone familiar...anyone close to us that turned...I'll take care of it." he replied firmly.

"No, that won't be necessary...I'll take care of my own family...just be sure to help Rei out, I don't know if she'd handle it well." he said, looking at the auburn haired girl with a look of worry. She had stayed relatively calm, but once they reached the station, that would all change at the drop of a hat. Finally, they made it to the end of the street, seeing the police station for the first time.

It was a tall brick building, standing proudly over Tokunosu, two tall flag poles being at the front, the Flag of Japan and the Flag with the crest of the city blowing in the wind. Large windows dotted the walls on each floor, the large plastic shades being pulled down, though there were some that were still open. Vibrant green trees could be seen over the tall brick walls, two large iron gates stood at the front entrance, having been pulled open by someone, as the chain was still on the ground. Several large coach buses had been parked outside, some overturned police cars and S.A.T. vans could be seen outside, near some large white tents that once housed survivors. The entire place was dead, not a single soul in sight, other than a few Freaks that had wondered into the lot.

"Where is everyone? Auntie Aiko said this place was filled with people!" Rei said, looking around her face clearly distressed. Hinata was quick to take down the nearby Freaks, as to not attract them over to where they stood.

"They might have taken refuge inside, though these tire tracks suggest that they left a long time ago, perhaps before the EMP." Hinata said, tracing the tire tracks with his finger tips.

"Maybe they had cars that worked even after the detonation, so they might have left long before we left the mall...a few hours at most." Saya added.

"We'll never know unless we look inside, come on." Takashi said, leading the group through the iron gates. Hinata made sure to scan the entire place before giving them the go ahead. He walked over to one of the tables, seeing nothing but empty bullet boxes, though he did find a spare box magazine for a Beretta so it wasn't a total loss. He handed the magazine to Savannah who tucked it into her fanny pack.

They made their way into the police station, seeing it was in a state of disarray, not a single person in sight. Chairs were overturned and papers were strewn in all directions. There wasn't a single person inside the lobby, which made it even more worrying. Rei was looking around, about to call out until Saeko put her hand over her mouth.

"Don't call out, not until we're sure we're alone!" she said firmly, earning a glare from the spear user.

"I know what I am doing, it's clear that there isn't anyone on this floor." she replied.

"You can't be too sure of that. Those doors were open when we got here, and there's blood on the floor...someone must have gotten in." Melanie said, pointing to the blood on the floor.

As if on cue, a pair of Freaks made their way out of the public rest room, both of them groaning loudly as the shambled down the hall. Reacting quickly, Saeko sprung forward, slamming her blade into the young woman's forehead, pulling out with a single movement. As she was about to take down the young man, his head exploded, having been struck with Nozomi's pick axe. She earned a smile from her fellow purplette, before looking at the bodies.

"Looks like these two were the ones that came in after this place was closed...by the look of the injury on the woman's hand, they were trying to patch up after being bitten." Saeko said.

"It's sad...these two lovers ended up loosing their lives together." Takashi said.

"Lovers?"

He pointed to the phone in the girl's hand, seeing a picture of both of them when they were still alive, the words lovers forever being written on the top and bottom of the picture. Saeko blushed a bit, only for her to frown in sadness.

"Alright then, since there's no one here right now, I think we should turn our attention to munitions retrieval. This is a police station so there should be firearms and more ammunition somewhere, probably in the armory." Saya said firmly, looking at all of her friends.

"Do you know where that would be?" Takashi asked, looking at Rei, who shook her head.

"I never saw the armory myself. I normally stayed away from the guns." she said. Hinata chuckled, cracking his neck.

"Dear me cousin, it seems I have to do everything for you. Follow me fellas, the armory is this way. They have it on the first floor for when officers need to be dispatched in a hurry. My mother said it was near the dispatch office." he said, leading them down the hall. They arrived at the end of the first hall, turning to the left, all the while keeping their eyes on their surroundings, just in case another Freak lunged at them. Finally after a few minutes of searching, they arrived at the Armory, a large room that was on it's own in the hallway.

"Here it is...shit I totally forgot. You need a passcode in order to get access into this room." Hinata muttered, testing the door handle. It was firmly locked, and wouldn't be budging any time soon.

"This looks like one of those anti-surge locks that will keep working even during a power outage, sadly the EMP probably fried it's components, so even if we had the passcode, we wouldn't be getting in." Kohta said, taking a closer look at the lock.

"What if I just shot it? This shotgun can tear through anything." Takashi said, gesturing to the Ithaca in his hands.

"Are you insane? It would take too much ammunition to break down this door, and it's made of metal, so there could be a ricochet. Even if you shook the hinges." he replied. Hinata leaned back against the wall, finger on his chain as he tried to think of something. Nick walked forward, pushing Kohta and Takashi away as he gave the door a firm kick. It didn't even budge, there wasn't any scuff marks or even a dent in it.

"Looks like brute force won't be enough either. Damn, these cops really know how to secure the place down." he said.  
"Sure, because putting wooden doors in an armory inside a police station is a good alternative, jeez use your brain once and a while, idiot." Saya snapped.

"Is something wrong Hinata? You've been rather quiet for awhile now." Nozomi said, standing next to her friend, her ax loosely in her hand. He looked at florescent bulbs, some of them were flickering on and off every so often, probably a damaged generators trying to kick start itself or something of the like. He clicked his tongue, looking at the lock.

"Nothing is wrong it's just...I remember my mom telling me that they were renovating the police station in a couple of months. They were going to switch out the old locks for new fingerprint identification locks, due to all of the miss typed passcodes when people needed to get dispatched in a hurry. Obviously that didn't happen, since the old locks are still in." he said.

"Your point? Is this important or are you just spouting shit to hear yourself speak?" Melanie asked firmly, hands at her hips. He rolled his eyes.

"What I am getting at is that these locks aren't break in proof. A simple hand drill will get the job done." he replied. Saya's eyes lit up, and she started digging through her back pack, a smile on his face.

"I knew bringing something like this would be handy. I'm so stupid, I can't believe I didn't think of that before." she said, producing a small hand operated drill, with a seven centimeter long drill bit. She handed it to Kohta, who grinned.

"You know about breaking and entering too Hinata?" he asked.

"Of course, my mother told me that every eleven seconds, a break in happens, and that everyone should get an alarm system installed in their house, thankfully I remembered the last time this building was renovated. It was around the time I was in kindergarten."

"I remember that, my dad had just been transferred here and we were celebrating it here with all of his new co-workers." Rei added. The sound of the drill filled their ears, as Kohta started the long process of drilling the lock. He grit his teeth as he kept pushing the drill deeper into the lock, until they all heard a snap. He pulled the locking mechanism out of the door, panting a bit from all of the force he put into the drill.

"Wow, you are useful for something other than shooting." Saya mused, a hand on her face.

"Breaking...and entering...are part of covert operations...of course I have to be...familiar with them." he said firmly. Takashi threw the door open and looked inside. Every locker and gun rack was empty, nothing had been left behind at all, not even a single case of bullets.

"Shit...it's empty." he said.

"Gah of course! The police were dispatched all throughout the city, of course they would have taken their guns with them, stupid me!" Saya snapped.

"But this can't be it. It's a police station for Christ sakes, there has to be another place where there are weapons." Melanie snapped.

"Um...how about the Evidence Storage room? My papa told me once that they kept all of the other weapons inside there." Savannah said.

"That's right, if it isn't police property and it's confiscated, chances are it'll end up there. Rei, where's the Evidence room?" Kohta asked, turning to the auburn haired girl.

"Um...second floor, we can take the stairs back in the lobby." she replied. They all doubled back, hurrying through the halls until they were back at the lobby. They headed toward the stairs, coming to a stop when they saw a Freak. He was dressed in a freshly pressed suit, which was red in color, and had a white shirt underneath with a blue tie. He groaned loudly, holding his hand up, a gun being balanced on his finger.

"Mr. Katou...he was my father's friend." Rei said. Saeko moved forward, slamming her blade through the man's forehead.

"He ceased being that man when he turned into one of _them._ " she said simply. Hinata picked up the .38 special that has fallen to the ground, seeing all five rounds had been left intact. He handed it to Shizuka, who looked at it oddly.

"I would feel safer if you carried that with you. I'll show you how to use it later." he said.

"Um okay...but I'm not that good at things like this." she said simply. They made it to the second floor, slowly making their way through the empty hallway, avoiding the pools of blood when they could.

"It's past the S.A.T. office, down the hall and to the left." Rei said firmly.

"Do you think there are still S.A.T. agents still around here?" Takashi asked curiously. Saeko shrugged.

"You said we're here to procure weapons correct? I think I just found some." she exclaimed, running forward, just as a man dressed in riot armor lunged from the corner. She slammed her blade through his bottom jaw, his body dropping hard to the ground.

"Oh wow, it's an MP5SFK with a scope and a silencer, and he has two fifty round magazines with it. Oh, and this is an M92 Vertec, and there's three spare magazines for this one." Kohta said, gushing over the firearms he had found.

"Um, I think Kohta-chan lost it." Alice whispered to Shizuka, who simply shook her head.

"This is how he's coping with everything."

Kohta pulled the handgun from the holster, checking it over. Once he was content with it, he handed it to Saeko, who looked at it oddly.

"The M92 Vertec is from the Beretta line of handguns, so magazines from the 92FS and the M9 will work just fine with it. It's gas operated so it can be fired in semi-automatic and full-automatic." he said, handing her the gun. She looked at it oddly, the weight feeling a bit different than her sword.

"This is weird, I never thought I would be holding one of these." she said quietly. Kohta handed her the holster for it.

"You strap it onto your leg, it should stay snug on you, since I adjusted it a bit." he said. Hinata however kept looking at the machine gun in that was laying beside the body. It was the same model that his mother had used in the past. He picked it up off the ground, looking at it closely.

"It's had the full-automatic function taken off, just like my mother's." he said.

"That's because full-automatic is a waste of ammunition. Thankfully, we have plenty of 9mm ammunition, so we can afford to fire this a little more than our other weapons. This is super sonic ammunition, so it'll still make a sound when fired, though it will be quieter than normal. Would you like to use it Hinata?" Kohta asked. The teen looked through the scope, surprised to see the dot in the center. He shook his head, handing the machine gun over to him.

"No...I can't see myself using this for myself. Charlotte is fine for me." he said, kneeling before the fallen man. Hinata had already given his Kevlar vest to Takashi, seeing as all of the pockets would be more convenient for him. He didn't really like wearing something like that, but he did have a need for the armor. He took the arm braces off, and started putting them onto his own arms, pulling the straps rightly onto himself before slipping them through the locks.

"What are you doing?" Rei asked curiously, looking at her cousin.

"I'll join you in the Evidence room, don't wait for me." he said firmly, as he continued putting the armor on. He noticed Saeko was taking the leg braces for herself, not that he minded, it would be best for her to be the most protected, seeing as she was the one that got into fights the most in their group.

"Hinata, would you mind helping me with this?" Saeko asked, handing him the gun holster. He nodded and pulled on the straps a bit, placing it slightly below her waist, wrapping the straps around her leg.

"So, how are you doing? After everything that's happened I mean?" she asked. He remained silent for a second, fiddling with the strap.

"I'm doing fine...sure I lost my mom but I can't complain. I at least saw her before she died, unlike everyone else." he replied. A soft click filled his ear as he secured the holster.

"I wanted to give you my condolences...it must be horrible seeing your parent get torn apart like that. All we can hope for is that she's in a better place." she said. He nodded, taking the gun from her hand. He looked it over for a few seconds.

"I might as well give you the basic no how of using this weapon. It's rather simple, the little switch here at the back of the slide is your select fire. The safety is all the way at the bottom of it. SA stands for Semi-automatic, that's where you want to have it if you want to fire once per trigger pull. FA stands for full-automatic, when it's on this, you pull the trigger once and it will keep firing as long as you hold it down. The good thing about this gun is that the sights glow a bit when your looking through them, even at night you'll be able to see them. The grip is pretty nice too, so it shouldn't slip out of your hand." he said, giving her the gun. She swallowed hard, looking the gun over.

"Anything else you can share with me?" she asked.

"Um...well...make sure to always have a round in the chamber, you might need it, and it's better to have one than not. When you run out of bullets and need to change the magazine, press the button next to the trigger guard, replace the magazine and push until it clicks, then you press that little lever and the slide will snap back into place, with a fresh round in the chamber." he said. She nodded, pulling the slide back to make sure there was a round in the chamber. After she was content with it, she flicked the safety on and placed it into her holster, making sure the small strap was in place so it wouldn't fall out.

"Thank you Hinata. I'm not really good when it comes to firearms, I'm more of a traditional fighter myself." she said.

"No problem...however that small lesson isn't free. If I happen to find a katana down the road, would you mind teaching me how to use it?" he asked.

"Consider it done." she said firmly, giving him a handshake. The two silently moved toward the Evidence room, seeing the door had been opened, and everyone was inside, with Nick and Melanie keeping guard outside. He could hear Kohta's excited cries coming from the room, as he checked over the weapons that he had found.

"A Mossberg 500 with an extended tube, this one can hold eight shells, nine if you have one in the chamber. There's a Winchester .22 Long Rifle as well, these things are historic, I don't know what it would be doing here." Kohta said, looking at the two largest firearms on the table. Hinata's eyes widened a bit at the sight of Takashi's new gun.

"Dude, is that a freaking Super 90? With a door breacher?" He asked, rather loudly at that. Kohta nodded, looking almost like a bobble head as he did.

"The Benelli M4 Super 90, the shotgun of choice for the US Marine Corps and the British Military, it's also used by small time police stations in Japan for S.A.T. missions and it's a popular shotgun for the American SWAT units. And the scope works too, it's a fairly old model, but it isn't battery powered so it's good to go." he said.

"Man, some people have all the luck...oh well, I'll pick my AR over a tactical shotgun any day." he said, a smile on his face.

" _Ha! If that was only true...I wouldn't mind firing something like that!"_ he thought to himself, looking at the other guns on the table. He saw another Tokarev, as well as two Colt Officers. Several boxes of 9mm and .45 ACP ammunition were stacked neatly next to each other, along with a few boxes of 5.56 x 45mm ammunition and seven boxes of 12 gauge brass Birdshot, and a black box of 12 gauge slugs. They were pretty set with the ammunition, at least for now.

"We found a nice haul, but even this stuff will go eventually. Adding it to the ammo that Saya and Hinata salvaged from their trip to Mercy, and we got enough to last us a few weeks, if we avoid shooting that is." Kohta replied.

"Easier said than done." Takashi muttered dryly, earning a chuckle from Hinata.

"I get what you mean man. I love shooting my rifle just as much as the next person. Let's just keep an eye out for S.A.T. safe houses and collect everything we can. We're gonna need it, if we're thinking long term." he said firmly. He stretched a bit, cracking his neck.

"I'm gonna go wait in the hall, it's kinda stuffy in here." he said, turning to leave the room.

"Hey wait...take this .45 ACP ammo with you, you're the only one with that caliber here, so we won't be making use of it." Kohta said, pushing the nine boxes forward. Hinata looked at them all, a frown on his face. He was already carrying seventeen in his pack, nine more would add a lot of weight to it, then again he was carrying nine kilos of food on him. He shrugged off his pack, placing all of the ammo boxes inside.

"You okay?" Takashi asked quietly.

"It's getting a little heavy, but I'll deal with it. Mom made me carry the camping supplies whenever we went camping, and those packs were heavier than this." he said, placing the pack back around his shoulder. He grabbed his rifle, slinging it onto his shoulder, with the barrel pointing to the ground.

"It's better to have it and not need it than not have it and need it. I'm gonna take another look around, to see if we missed something." Kohta said, placing the extra handguns in his pack. Hinata left the room, taking a deep breath once he was back in the hallway. He walked toward the window, looking outside at the slowly darkening world. It was around five in the afternoon now, and the sun was starting to set. It would only take them ten minutes to make it to Rei's house from the station, but ten minutes could very well turn into an hour, at the rate the Freaks were moving. Then there was the matter of what to do when they got there. His uncle would surely know his mother would have been stationed at the mall, and if he told him that he had been there, he would want to know about his mother. He swallowed hard, pressing his forehead against the glass.

"Hinata, are you alright?" Nozomi asked quietly, walking up next to him. He looked at his best friend, a frown on his face.

"I'm just thinking, thinking about what I'll tell my uncle when he asks if I saw my mother." he replied.

"Oh." she said simply. He sighed, looking back out the window.

"I'll think of something. Uncle Tadashi, he always told me stories about my mom, and how much of a kind person he was. She had a fierce side though...the kids in high school called her Queen Aiko, due to her being able to strike fear into everyone, and make them act orderly, no matter the person. She would always speak her mind, with poise and dignity that rivaled the Queen of England. She was elected Homecoming Queen and Prom Queen every single year until she graduated high school. That was one of the things my father loved about her, how she could be kind yet stern at the same time. She used her kindness to her advantage. It was a side of her I never saw though...she was my rock..my hero..and now she's..."

"Don't cry Hinata...you're gonna make me cry too." Nozomi said, her bright green eyes glistening over with tears.

"I'm trying Zo, I really am." he said, wiping his tears away. The girl hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest. It had been the first time in awhile that he had seen his best friend cry. The last time she did was when Bryce had almost broken her wrist, back during Christmas break. He had slept in her dorm every day for three weeks, until her roommate came back from vacation, just to make sure she was safe. Seeing her cry now, it hurt him, it really did.

"It'll be alright...we're all in this together, right?" she asked quietly, after a few minutes of silence. He nodded firmly, letting go of her smaller frame.

"Alright, we got everything we could from here, we need to find the communications and command control center." Saya said firmly.

"That should be on the third floor, at the end of the hallway." Rei replied. Everyone started moving toward the stairs, walking up them once more. Saeko took down a few more officers, getting pained gasps from Rei as she recognized who they were. Making it to the third floor, they were able to take down the few Freaks that were inside. They stopped outside the Command and Control Center, Kohta slowly opened the the door, peeking inside. He placed the muzzle of his gun through the door, pulling the trigger twice.

"All clear." he said, moving into the room.

"This place is dead." Rei muttered dryly, looking around the room. All of the computers were dead, having been taken out by the EMP, even the large screen was off, though there was a glow coming from the other end of the room.

"There's a computer over there, it seems to still be working!" Nozomi said, pointing to the other end of the room. Hinata quickly walked over to it, looking it over for information. He typed a few things on it, not finding anything interesting on it.

"There's nothing of interest...oh hello...it seems the J-Alert has been activated." he said, seeing the large icon flashing red at the bottom of the screen.

"J-Alert? What's that?" Takashi asked.

"The J-Alert system is a warning system for the entire country of Japan. It warns the populous of various things, tsunamis, earthquakes, nuclear melt down, even attack from foreign nations. If this is active, then that means the entire country has declared a state of emergency, meaning rescue operations will start happening everywhere." Saya explained, pushing Hinata away from the monitor. She started typing a few things on the keyboard, hoping to find a search bar or something that could help them.

"Damn it! All of this information is fucking useless!" she snapped angrily.

"None of these other computers are working, yet that one is. Could it be possible that there's a working power station nearby?" Saeko asked curiously.

"As if! All of the buildings in this area lost power due to that EMP blast, even if this place has backup generators, the are still damaged from that single event. This thing has a backup power cell keeping it working, but that won't last more than a few hours, which is why I need to find all of the information I can before it does die. It's already been on standby for hours." Saya snapped back. Alice licked her lips, seeing a button on the keyboard, she bit her bottom lip and pressed it, making the screen go blank for a second.

"What did you do munchkin?" Saya snapped, glaring at Alice, who was shaking in place.

"S-sorry Saya-chan...I just wanted to press the button." she said, pressing her fingers together.

"I understand where you are coming from, if I saw a button I would wanna push it too." Takashi said quietly.

"I can't believe you kid you just...no wait you found just what we were looking for. Thanks a lot kiddo!" the pinkette cried, ruffling the little girl's hair.

"Looks like you did something right Alice, for that you get a reward." Hinata said, handing her a candy bar. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed it from his hand, tearing into it.

"Thanks big brother!" she cried.

"Aw, you call him big brother but can't call me big sister? I see how it is munchkin. But thanks to you I found out something big. It seems the Special Defense Forces are conducting a rescue of Tokunosu city." Saya said, looking at her friends.

"Rescue? Not recovery?" Takashi asked.

"They probably can't afford to send more people onto the ground, things are getting bad in the city, just look at what has happened in seven days, they are probably going to rescue everyone they can before leaving indefinitely, meaning if we don't make it, we'll be left behind." Nick said, glancing at the screen for a few seconds.

"Pfft, that's better in my opinion. Can't say I really liked the government." Hinata replied with a shrug.

"So, where's this happening exactly?" Melanie asked, looking at Saya with a curious look on her face. Saya looked toward Nozomi and Takashi, who happened to be standing next to each other at the time.

"The operation is taking place in Shintoko Third Elementary, a day from now...so I would say tomorrow afternoon, for two hours. If we don't make it there by then..." she remained silent.

"So...that means we only have one shot at finding our parents. If we head to either house, we won't make it to the school in time." Nozomi said, looking at everyone with widened eyes.

"But Lila could be at the school, you never know." Hinata said.

"And there's a chance that she's not at the school too. We can't afford to check both places...we'll have to pick one and go."

"Nozomi...we can make it to both, I promised you we would find your mother, so I'll keep my promise to you." Hinata said.

"I understand...but if we go straight to my house, we won't make it to Takashi and Rei's houses in time, especially with all of the Freaks in the area...I say we...head to Shintoko, and hope that she's there." she said.

"I agree with Nozomi, there's a chance that her mother never left the school and is in fact with her students taking refuge there. Unless the protocols were different, then they would have stayed in place." Takashi added.

"What if the school was overrun, did you think of that possibility?" Nick asked.

"I was trying not to..I can't imagine seeing deceased children." Rei muttered to herself. Saya and Hinata stiffened a bit, not wanting to remember the things they had seen before. Savannah blocked her ears, her hair covering her eyes as she was muttering comforting words to herself.

"Whatever the case, we have to go. Rei where's your father's office?" Takashi asked, her eyes lit up and she burst out of the room, pointing down the hall.

"It's this way, at the end of the hall!" she exclaimed, racing toward the office. She grabbed the door handle and turned it, pushing the door in.

"Dad!" she cried out, looking around the office, only to see it was empty. Papers were all over the place, empty cups and coffee mugs littered the floor, their contents spilled over the tile floor.

"He's not here." Takashi muttered, fist clenched tightly.

"He has to be, look around!" Rei cried, walking further into the office. Hinata sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Cousin, he isn't here. We can't waste anymore time here!"

"Shut up! We can't leave, not without him!"

"Ow!" Shizuka cried out, the woman was rubbing her breasts after having hit the whiteboard, which was half turned.

"Jesus, are those things really that huge lady?" Melanie muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. Shizuka decided to ignore her, looking at the whiteboard. She noticed something written on the other side and turned it over, eyes widening a bit.

"Hey everyone, I found something." she said, getting their attention. Rei's breath hitched a bit.

" _Everyone, head to Shintoko Third Elementary for evacuation!"_

"That's my father's handwriting. He's alright, he's alive!" she exclaimed.

"Better yet, he's at the Elementary school. All we have to do now is find Aunt Kiriko and we can head there. This is the final stretch guys, think you have what it takes?" Hinata asked, glancing at his friends with a small grin on his face.

"Pfft, yes, this is the final stretch, the final stretch of the first act. We still have to make it to the finale alive. What's the plan from here?" Saya asked curiously, looking at Takashi and Rei. Both gave them a firm nod.

"We'll go to our houses and see if Rei's mother is there, along with my own mother. If not we'll head to the elementary school, and hopefully nothing has happened there yet." He replied.

"Good, then let's get a move on, before it gets dark." Hinata said firmly. With their mission in mind, they moved down the stairs toward the exit, it would take them awhile to make it to their neighborhood, but Takashi knew they would make it, they had made it that far already, there was no stopping now.

 _xxx_

Getting out of the airport alive had been one thing, but making it alive back to land was another thing all together. Even then, Rika had managed both. Due to the EMP, all communications had been wiped out, and since it detonated over the ocean, all of the ships bearing military had also suffered. She wasn't even sure if there were people alive on them anymore, but she had seen a single Chopper flying through the city, so she hoped they were alright. Still she had other things to worry about.

Grabbing her rifle tightly, she made her way off the boat she had taken and started making her way out of the shipyard. The sounds of the dead filled her ears as she slowly made her way past the fences that had been torn right off the posts. She had seen several vessels in the bay, most of them adrift while others had been filled with survivors. It seemed all of them had the same idea, head out to sea and hope for the best, but with the EMP, that was no longer possible for them. She took a puff from her cigarette, looking around the empty streets. She was in the East end of Tokunosu, not that far from the Precinct. Maybe if she was lucky, Shizuka would be there and they could meet up. That was one of her biggest hopes after all. With nothing to loose, she made her way toward the Police station, in hopes to make it back to her friends side.


	16. A Quick Update

**A/N: Hello everyone. This isn't going to be a new chapter, just an update letting you know that for the next few days, I will be updating this story. There will be added content to every chapter as well as some editing and polishing of previous events. There may be new things added, or some things taken off, but I will let you know which chapters have been edited either through here or at the A/N at the beginning of said chapter. I don't know when Chapter 16 will be written, as I am focusing on fixing all of the mistakes I couldn't get to before.**

 **So, for now I hope you enjoy the new stuff and edits to each new chapter. As of this update, chapters 1 and 2 have been reedited. Thanks for understanding and sorry for any inconvenience.**

 **As of March 25th 2017 at 9:27PM Chapter 3 has been updated**


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